


A Series of Dates

by AlexiaBlackbriar13



Series: Man's Best Friend [9]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Big Belly Burger, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dating, Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family Dinners, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, Harry Potter Marathons, Kissing, Movie Nights, Olicity dating, Oliver Queen Has PTSD, Oliver gets a service dog, PTSD episodes, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Service Dogs, Sharing Clothes, Sharing a Bed, Walks In The Park, coffee dates, season 1 AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2018-10-04
Packaged: 2019-02-19 19:17:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 41,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13130304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexiaBlackbriar13/pseuds/AlexiaBlackbriar13
Summary: Oliver Queen is in love with Felicity Smoak. Felicity Smoak is in love with Oliver Queen.It takes four dates, and the help of Oliver's loyal service dog, Hunter, for them to realise that they're forever destined to be something more than just friends.10/4/2018 - minor edits to all chapters





	1. the (totally un-platonic) platonic coffee date

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Holidays, and Merry Christmas!
> 
> A present to my wonderful followers on Tumblr, Twitter and AO3 alike, who have supported me this year, through the highs and lows - you asked for it and have been waiting for over a year... finally, you'll get it!
> 
> Hope you enjoy xx Thank you!
> 
> The sketch below was drawn by the incredible [@shani_art](https://twitter.com/shani_art) (Twitter link). Thank you so much! It's amazing xxx

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 4/10/18 - minor edits made to all chapters

* * *

_To: Felicity Smoak :) - So how about that coffee date? ;)_

_Draft deleted._

_To: Felicity Smoak :) - Hey, it’s Oliver. Remember when I came to your cubicle that one time and my service dog jumped on you that one time and we awkwardly agreed to go out for coffee on a date as friends that one time?_

_Draft deleted._

_To: Felicity Smoak :) - Hi, Felicity. It’s Oliver. Do you want to meet at the coffee shop on the corner on Fifth and Maine after you finish work today?_

Oliver frowned down at the text, his nervousness causing him to almost feel sick. He was seated cross-legged on one of the couches in the Queen mansion living room in his sweatpants. It was nearly seven in the morning, so all the staff and his family were bustling about the house, preparing for the day. The archer didn’t like being in the house when it was like this. Everybody moving about so quickly, shouting down the stairs and the lengthy corridors, just stressed him out. He preferred to camp out in the living room until things settled down.

Hunter was lying next to him, curled up with his head on Oliver’s lap. Blinking doleful blue eyes up at his master, the husky mix released a low, resounding rumble from his chest, gently licking at the archer’s fingers when he began scratching behind his service dog’s ears. The week had not been good so far. It had been rather trying for both of them, which was partly why Oliver wanted to go on this coffee date with Felicity today. The bubbly, lively blonde was sure to lift his mood from downright depressed to somewhere around the state of happiness. She’d said to call anytime to arrange the coffee date, but in all honestly, Oliver didn’t feel up to it. Talking on his cell phone just made him anxious, especially as his social cues weren’t up to scratch after the island.

He showed Hunter the text. “What do you think? Do you think it’s too forward?”

The service dog huffed, ears swivelling. He shot Oliver what he recognised as Hunter’s classic unimpressed look.

Oliver’s arm flopped down and he dropped his cell phone back into his lap. “Right. You’re a dog, you can’t read.”

“You need somebody to read something for you?”

The archer’s back straightened within an instant, as if he’d been shocked with electricity. He snatched up his cell phone and buried it between Hunter’s back and the couch cushions, hopefully out of Thea’s reach, as his little sister approached with a sly, yet curious expression on her face.

“No,” Oliver answered flatly. “It’s… fine.”

“C’mon, Ollie, let me read it.”

“Don’t you have to get to school?”

“I’d just let her read it, Oliver,” Walter called from the hallway, where he was shrugging on his coat. “She won’t leave you alone until she does.”

Thea reached her hand out, flexing her fingers in the ‘gimme’ gesture. Her smile spread into a wide, shit-eating grin. “Walter’s right, you know. He’s British. He’s always right.”

“Just because he’s British doesn’t mean he’s - hey, Thea, NO! Don’t - Hunter, fetch!”

When Oliver was least expecting it, Thea jumped forwards, stuck her hand behind the service dog’s body and grabbed his cell phone. She danced out of reach, sticking her tongue out as the archer lanced after her desperately. He could hear his blood pounding in his ears, his heart fluttering anxiously in his chest. This was a private thing for him, and he didn’t want Thea blowing it up out of proportion, which she undoubtedly would; he also had the feeling that his little sister would have the time of her life teasing him about being so nervous asking a girl out on a date.

At Oliver’s harsh, barked command, Hunter leapt to his paws, slinking down to the floor with a growl. Nipping at Thea’s hand caused her to yelp, releasing the cell phone so she could lift her hand to her chest protectively. Hunter caught it in his mouth before it hit the ground and bounced back towards the archer, passing over the cell phone. Oliver finally exhaled in relief, not even realising he was holding his breath until Hunter rested his head on top of his knees, whining.

“Who’s Felicity Smoak?”

Oliver’s head shot up, and he said warningly, voice wavering ever so slightly, “Thea, _don’t_. Leave it.”

His sister had an excited twinkle in her eyes. She wasn’t going to let up until she got an answer, and Oliver knew it. “Are you dating somebody?”

“No.”

“Oh my god, you _are_. You’re dating this Felicity Smoak.”

“No, Thea, I’m - I’m _not_.”

“You’re meeting her for coffee after she finishes work!”

“Because we’re - we’re _friends_ ,” Oliver said desperately. Hunter huffed beside him, glaring at Thea with his ears flattening to his skull in distaste.

“Is she cute?”

Oliver spluttered. “What?”

“C’mon! Is she cute? She’s gotta be cute for her to attract your attention! What’s she like?!”

“She’s, um…” The archer suddenly felt very nervous trying to describe Felicity, but words came pouring out of his mouth, “She’s - she’s really nice. She’s attentive and kind and she’s not pushy at all. She loves dogs and Hunter adores her.”

Thea squealed, clapping her hands together delightedly. “Oh my god, she sounds perfect! And you’re dating her!”

“Thea, we’re _not dating_.”

“She has a smiley face after her name in your contacts! You’re totally crushing on her, oh my god, this is so adorable -”

“ _Thea!_ ”

His little sister’s mouth snapped shut, and she swallowed, watching him concernedly as Oliver stood and began to pace anxiously, fumbling with trembling hands. Hunter rumbled worriedly, accompanying the archer in his pacing. The service dog pressed insistently into his master’s legs, trying to urge him to sit back down so he could comfort him properly. But Oliver just needed to pace, needed to drive off this nervous energy. This was precisely why he didn’t want to tell any of his family about getting back out into the world, and potentially dating a woman - a woman who he genuinely liked, who wasn’t out to date him just for money, or fame. A woman who his service dog liked and approved of, and a woman Oliver felt at ease with. They would work the archer up into a state, making things out to be bigger and more dramatic than they were.

Oliver wanted to go slowly. If he and Felicity did decide to pursue a relationship, and continue dating - he would want that to be for them to enjoy, not for his family. Certainly not for the media.

Walter chose the worst possible time to walk into the living room, straightening his lapels. “Did I hear Thea mention Ms Smoak?”

Closing his eyes, Oliver let his head fall into his hands, collapsing back onto the couch with a soft groan. Hunter hopped up beside him, half stepping over the archer so he could nuzzle into his neck, licking at his collarbone with quiet, reassuring whimpers. Moira glowered at the dog, opening her mouth as if to protest, but she pursed her lips when Oliver began stroking and hugging Hunter to his chest, showing her that he needed his comfort.

“Oliver’s going out for coffee with her later,” Thea answered for him. “Do you know her, Walter?”

The Brit blinked in surprise at his stepdaughter's revelation. “She works in QC’s IT department. I recommended Oliver go to see her about getting used to his new cell phone.” He turned back to the archer, and his raised eyebrow and bordering on disapproving expression didn’t help Oliver’s anxiety, instead just agitating him more. “You two are… dating?”

“Not… really…”

“You’re going out for coffee together.”

“It’s platonic.”

“Is it really?” Thea teased. “Still a date.”

“It’s our first date,” he muttered.

“Pardon?”

“It’s our first date, alright?!” Oliver practically shouted. At their surprised looks, he choked out a pained sound and buried his head in Hunter’s scruff. “God, this is exactly why I didn’t want to tell anybody about this in the first place. This was such a stupid idea. I’ll just delete that draft and forget about it.”

There was a beat of frigid silence, and then it was broken by Oliver’s cell phone pinging loudly. He glanced down at it and as he saw that tiny blue notification that he’d received a reply from Felicity Smoak, it felt as if all the oxygen was sucked out of his lungs. Hunter snuffled at the phone curiously, tilting his head sideways. Very slowly, Oliver raised his shocked and panicked gaze up to his little sister, his eyes wide.

“Yeah, so, I _might_ have pressed send on that draft?” Thea explained weakly. She didn’t seem perturbed by the archer’s fierce glare, instead pushing Hunter off the couch, much to the service dog’s irritation, so she could scoot up to her brother’s side. “What did she say?”

_Re: From Felicity Smoak :) - That sounds great! I’ll meet you there at five pm. Is it okay if I bring a treat for Hunter?_

He held his breath, his fingers working quickly on the digital keyboard.

_Re: To Felicity Smoak :) - Feel free to bring whatever treats you want._ He paused, before adding, _Do I get a treat as well? ;)_

The response was almost immediate.

_Re: From Felicity Smoak :) - We’ll see, mister, haha!_

Thea’s fingers scratched at the archer’s arm as she squirmed next to him, trying to catch a look at the phone screen. “What’s she saying? Did she say yes?!”

“We’re meeting at five,” he admitted.

His little sister’s eyes bugged out and she screeched, “Today!?” The shrill tone of her voice caused Hunter to startle, whining and batting at Oliver’s feet as he shook his head in discomfort. Oliver reached down to stroke him at the same time Thea thumped him on the back with one of the throw pillows. “Oh my god! Ollie! You’re going on a date today with a cute girl that you like!” She stood, looking ecstatic. “Okay, tell me your plans. What are you going to wear? What’s your opening line?”

Oliver stared at her. “Um. I’ll wear this and say, ‘Hi, Felicity. How was work today?’?”

Thea gaped at him, looking appalled. She turned to Walter who was watching them both amusedly. “Walter, I can’t go to school today,” she said, completely serious. “This is an emergency. My castaway brother is going on a first date with a girl he really likes and desperately needs my help if he wants to continue dating her.”

“School ends at half three, Thea, you’ll be back in plenty of time to help Oliver out with his dating crisis.”

“It’s not a crisis,” the archer grumbled, scratching under Hunter’s chin.

“But I have lacrosse practice after school until six!” his little sister complained. “Walter, pleeeeeasssseee?”

“You have Interstate Championships coming up, you can’t afford to miss practice.” Their mother strode into the living room with all the regal grace and calmness she usually radiated. Moira was dressed in a smart business suit, one she usually wore when she had an important meeting at QC that day. “But don’t worry, Thea, I’ll help your brother prepare for his date.”

“You will?” All three of them answered in sync, Walter sounding pleased, Thea sounding relieved and Oliver just sounding - well, extremely confused and alarmed. The idea of having his mom doting and fussing over him in preparation of a date was not particularly a very comforting one; Moira tended to have very high standards for everything.

“You don’t have to look so scared, Oliver,” Moira laughed. “It’s been five years since you’ve taken a woman on a date, and times have changed. I just want to offer you some advice on what to wear, what to say and how to act.”

“That sounds like a wonderful arrangement,” Walter agreed. He placed a hand on Thea’s shoulder and began steering her out of the living room towards the front doors, picking up her school bag for her as he shepherded her. “Come on, Thea, let’s get you to school. It appears as if your mother has everything under control.”

Thea turned back, struggling against their step-father’s grasp on her arm. “Mom, don’t let him wear sweatpants!” she shrieked. “He’ll scare her away forever and then he’ll be eternally alone!”

“Don’t forget your mouthguard, sweetheart!” was all Moira replied, her tone slightly scathing but also a hint of amusement underlying it.

The sound of the front doors slamming shut triggered the archer to flinch, his hypervigilance making him jittery. Hunter wormed his way in between Oliver’s legs, resting his head on his crotch and stomach as he gazed up at his master with dark eyes. Signing, Oliver returned to stroking his service dog’s head. This was already becoming a much, much more stressful situation than he’d ever expected it to be. Although, he’d expected to be able to keep going on a date with Felicity secret, not getting his family involved. Drama always seemed to increase tenfold when his mother and sister got involved.

It was the couch cushions shifting beneath him due to his mother taking a seat beside him, not touching him at all but still next to him, that caused Oliver to snap his head up. He blurted out without even thinking, “ _Please_ don’t make me wear a tux on a coffee date.”

Moira said nothing for a moment, and then responded dryly, “I was actually going to suggest you wear whatever you think you’ll feel most comfortable in.”

Oliver was stunned, but managed to hide it from her well - Hunter, not so much. The husky mix tilted his head, ears perking as he released a confused sound at the archer’s fluctuating emotions. “Oh,” he managed to say.

“Did you think I was going to dictate everything about this date for you?” his mother smiled knowingly.

“You… do have a bit of a tendency to micromanage,” Oliver admitted quietly.

“Well, I am not going to micromanage this coffee date with Miss Smoak,” Moira promised, reaching up to gently rub his shoulder. Hunter snuffled at her hands, almost seeming pleased by what she was saying, although he couldn’t properly understand. “All I’ll insist is that you have whatever shirt you are going to wear ironed and Hunter wears that adorable little clip-on tie that Walter bought for him.”

“Walter bought Hunter a _what_?”

Moira laughed. “You’ll see later. Now, I have some work to do, so I will leave you alone until around… three o’clock? And we’ll meet in your bedroom.”

“Sounds good,” Oliver confirmed, feeling much more relieved than he ever would have expected about this date now that he knew that he would still have control over it.

Dropping a kiss on his forehead, his mother rose to her feet and began to make her exit. She did, however, pause for a second in the doorway, to quickly add, “And just one more insistence - shower. Please.”

“Are you saying I smell?” Oliver questioned, slightly offended.

“Hunter slept on top of you last night, didn’t he?” Moira asked, instead of answering his question.

“How’d you know that?”

“You smell like dog.” She flashed a grin before disappearing behind the corner.

Oliver blinked in surprise that his mother had apparently just teased him, but shook himself and turned to stroke down Hunter’s back, ruffling his scruff. The husky mix lanced upwards to gently lick his cheek, ears pricking.

“Whoever would have thought that Oliver Queen could get nervous over the idea of going on a date with a girl?” the archer muttered. Hunter snorted, thumping the side of the coffee table with his tail. “I guess it’s because it’s Felicity, huh, bud? We wanna impress her, don’t we? I like her. I want her to like me back.” The husky mix nibbled on his fingertips with a quiet grumble. “Oh, don’t worry, she already likes you. I mean, you did sort of throw yourself onto your lap when you first met her, bud. For a dog you can be pretty forward sometimes, you know that? If you like somebody, you’ve got to show your appreciation for them. With compliments, gifts, that sort of thing.”

After a minute of scratching under the service dog’s chin in comfortable silence, Oliver’s eyes flew open wide. “Shit. Do I get Felicity flowers? Chocolates?” Leaping to his feet, he chased after where his mother had disappeared off to. “Mom! MOM! DO I GET HER FLOWERS OR CHOCOLATES?”

* * *

There was a giant knot inside of Oliver’s knot begging to be released, but until Felicity appeared at the entrance of the coffee shop, the archer knew he was going to remain in a constant state of anxiety that she wasn’t going to show. Hunter whined concernedly from where he was curled up underneath the table, nosing his way under his pant leg to lick at Oliver’s calf, as if trying to calm him down.

Preparation for this date had gone well. At three o’clock, Moira had met with Oliver in his bedroom and helped him pick out a reasonably smart, yet casual, outfit for the date, which consisted of dark wash navy jeans, a white, fitted t-shirt and leather jacket. His mother had taken great joy in fluffing up Oliver’s hair with a little gel, since he’d grown it out a bit from his original buzzcut from first arriving home. She’d brought out a mini black bowtie that clipped onto Hunter’s collar and aided the archer in grooming the service dog while they discussed date etiquette. Oliver should have been, by all accounts, rather confident.

Nope, he was practically shitting himself.

He was terrified. He desperately hoped that he wasn’t shaking. He didn’t want to feel scared. He genuinely liked Felicity and wanted to see if their friendship could develop into something more. Sure, Oliver wasn’t actively looking for a relationship - his Hood work made it far too dangerous for him to even consider having a long-term partner - but this coffee date was just a date between friends. Right? _Friends._ Feeling anxious about it was stupid. Felicity wasn’t going to grill him for information about the island or about his mental illnesses and Hunter, they’d already established that when they’d first met. So there really was no reason for him to feel as agitated as he did.

Except for the fact that he’d put a massive amount of pressure on himself to ensure that this entire date went well and he didn’t screw up in one single instance. Because if Oliver screwed up - he was a failure. Consciously, he knew that messing something up - even as small as maybe stumbling over his words a little - wasn’t going to affect Felicity’s opinion of him. But because of his depression and anxiety, he already had a multitude of possibilities of how this date could go horrifically wrong swarming in his subconscious. (Although their date being blown up or stormed by masked gunmen was unlikely…)

He just… really liked Felicity.

And because Oliver currently absolutely despised himself, because of his record-breaking self-loathing levels, as Tommy said, he was worried that she wasn’t going to like him.

Hunter’s canines dragged painfully over the sensitive skin near his ankle, causing Oliver to wince and jerk, snapping the dog’s name warningly. Hunter blinked up at him from under the table, eyes narrowed and an almost scolding expression on his face. He could sense Oliver’s emotional state swinging between extremes. One moment the archer was blindingly ecstatic about the date, the next he was concerned that maybe he was a little too happy.

Sighing, Oliver reached down to scratch between the service dog’s ears. “Sorry, buddy,” he murmured. “I’m just… very, very tense right now.”

He checked the time. 5:23. Oliver’s breathing hitched. Twenty minutes late. That had to mean that Felicity had bailed on him, right? That meant that she obviously hated him and didn’t want anything to do with him.

Before his hyperventilation could escalate into a panic attack, however, the coffee shop door slammed open and the blonde IT girl skidded in, looking panicked. She was wearing a bright flowery crop top and black high waisted skirt that complimented her figure pleasantly. Her glasses were askew but she straightened them quickly, and her breathing was heavier than usual, indicating that she’d travelled to get here in a rush. Felicity’s gaze immediately fell on the dejected archer and she stumbled over to him, falling into her seat opposite him.

“I am _so so sorry_ ,” she breathed, voice laced with guilt. “Things got complicated at work - some kid in Russia hacked into the email servers and everything was on fire - literally - and… I’m _so sorry_ , I didn’t meant to be late.” Placing her palms on the table, she seemed to take a couple of seconds to center herself, calming down, before she flashed a happy smile and greeted him, “Hi.” Hunter nuzzled at her, whining. “Oh! Hi, Hunter. Aw, look at that little bowtie! That’s adorable.” Felicity raked her eyes up and down the archer’s figure with a strange expression that Oliver couldn’t read well. “Wow. You look amazing. And… really pale. Like, about to pass out pale. Are you okay?”

“You’re here,” was all Oliver was able to choke out. His anxiety was settling slightly, relief washing over him.

Felicity’s eyes widened and her jaw practically dropped. “Did - you thought I wasn’t coming?”

He managed to nod, exhaling slowly. Hunter had returned to rubbing his muzzle over Oliver’s calf to soothe him, so the archer dropped one of his hands to gently massage the service dog’s ears. “I was being stupid, I’m sorry,” he muttered. “I definitely don’t think you’re the kind of person to bail on somebody, I just - I arrived early and worked myself into a state thinking that you weren’t going to turn up because you’d finally realised what a complete mess I am… Kind of ridiculous in hindsight.”

“I don’t think that’s ridiculous. Wait - no - not - I’m not trying to imply that you’re a mess and I’d realised that and that would make me not turn up - I’m here and I’m here to stay. I’m just saying that it’s not ridiculous for you to feel nervous. I mean, I’m nervous too - not that there’s anything we should feel particularly nervous about! We’re just two friends getting coffee together.” She smiled, and it was then that Oliver noticed her anxious drumming of her fingers on the table, her little fidgets every couple of seconds. Felicity was restless as well. “Sorry… I tend to babble a lot when I’m… well…”

“When you’re nervous?” Oliver finished, lips quirking up into a small, hesitant smile.

She grinned. “Yeah.” Leaning to the side a little, she chuckled lightly, peering under the table. “I think Hunter can sense that though. He keeps nudging my legs and tugging on my dress.”

“I’m sorry,” Oliver immediately said. He shot a glare at the husky mix, silently willing him to behave.

“Oh, no, it’s fine! I don’t mind.” Reaching into her bag, Felicity pulled out a little packet of vet-approved chicken jerky strips for dogs. “I bought these for Hunter, if that’s okay. I did some research online and the company that makes these only use natural ingredients, and the strips are meant to help dogs’ teeth.”

“That’s so nice of you. You didn’t have to do that.”

She shrugged. “I wanted to. We’re getting a treat, Hunter should too.”

He startled, remembering suddenly about the gift he’d brought her. “Oh, um, I wasn’t sure what chocolates or flowers you liked, so I - well, I brought you this.” Hesitantly handing over the selection box of flower shaped dark, milk and white chocolate, he finished, “I thought I’d combine the chocolate and flowers.”

“Oh my god, these look _amazing_ ,” Felicity gushed, her eyes wide with delight as she carefully took the box, examining the chocolates inside. “Thank you so much, Oliver! You didn’t have to.”

“I wanted to,” he smiled. “And you don’t need to worry - um, Walter told me it was on your QC file that you’re allergic to nuts, so I made sure there aren’t any in the chocolates or any traces.”

The blonde appeared shocked, and her voice was slightly thick with emotion as she murmured, “That’s so sweet, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“So since this is meant to be a coffee date, do you want to get some coffee?”

“I’m… not actually allowed coffee,” the archer admitted, running a hand through his hair sheepishly. “My doctor advised me to stay away from stimulants and caffeine, because they can heighten anxiety.”

He winced, expecting Felicity to question why, then, had he agreed to go for coffee with her, but she barely even blinked. She just looked up at him after feeding the service dog a piece of the chicken jerky and crooning to the pup softly about how he was a good boy, suggesting, “You could always get decaf, or tea or hot chocolate.”

“That’s… a really good idea,” Oliver said. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Coffee shops don’t usually just serve coffee, ya know,” Felicity teased him.

He laughed. He suddenly didn’t know why he’d been so nervous before. Felicity was wonderful and lovely and kind. There was nothing to be scared of. “There’s the slimmest chance this might be a really strange coffee shop and only serve coffee.”

“What should I order you then?”

“I can go and order for us, you don’t have to.”

“Nooo, you’re settled with Hunter lying on top of your feet. I’ll go up.”

“Um, could you ask Kelsey to make me something like what she did last time? When I came in here last week, she made me some sort of iced drink that was off the menu and it was great.”

“Sure! I’ll be back in the minute.”

Oliver watched with a smile as the blonde bounced up to the counter to order, quickly being drawn into a conversation by Kelsey, the barista. It gave him a chance to fully exhale, going through the motions of one of the thirty-second breathing exercises. Things weren’t going horribly. Things were actually going _well_. He just needed to relax and open up a little bit more. Hunter poked his head out from under the table to fix his gaze on Felicity, watching her curiously, and the archer quickly adjusted his little bowtie while ruffling his scruff.

Kelsey, the barista leaned around Felicity to wave at him, and Oliver waved back. After a couple more words, Felicity headed back towards him, slipping into her seat with a beaming grin. Her knees knocked into the husky mix as he hurried back under the table, as if embarrassed being caught spying on her; to the archer’s shock (and delight), Felicity leant down to apologise to the service dog, feeding him another piece of jerky.

“Kelsey’s going to bring our drinks over,” she informed him. “I paid - nope, I don’t care about you paying me back. My treat. Kelsey gave us a discount anyway. She told me to say that she’s going to give you one of her new speciality iced drinks that she guarantees will blow your mind.”

“Looking forward to it,” Oliver smiled.

“Why’d you choose this place, by the way?” Felicity questioned curiously, leaning on her hand as she focused her attention on him. “I get that’s it’s only a five-minute walk from QC, but… I would have thought you were more of an _Aroma Coffee_ type of guy.”

Oliver wrinkled his nose. “Isn’t that the coffee shop where all the executives of QC have their business meetings and the coffee tastes like dirty dishwater?”

Felicity looked surprised. “Uh, yeah.”

“They’re not service dog friendly,” the archer informed her. “I tried to go in there with Thea and Mom last week and they wouldn’t let me in with Hunter.”

“My mom really didn’t take it well. Don’t be shocked if that place shuts down within the next few months.” He glanced around their current establishment. The coffee shop was reasonably empty, with only a couple of other people sitting in booths and in the comfy leather chairs as they worked. The interior was quite bright but not overpoweringly so, and the staff were always incredibly welcoming. “To be honest, what attracted me to this place initially was the name.”

Felicity beamed back at him. “ _Espresso Patronum?_ You’re a Harry Potter fan?”

“I do a lot of reading as a calming technique and after I finished reading all the Greek Literature in the house, Thea begged me to read the Harry Potter books,” Oliver nodded. “Now, I’m hooked.”

“Have you watched the movies?”

He startled. “There are movies?”

Gasping in horror, the blonde reached across the table to grab and squeeze his hands, demanding, “Okay, you _have_ to come over my apartment sometime in the next couple of weeks so we can binge-watch the movies. The last one, DHP2 came out last year, so there are no excuses not to.”

“DHP2?” Oliver repeated, laughing.

“Deathly Hallows Part 2!” Felicity exclaimed, waving her hands around wildly.

“They split the last book into two movies?”

“Yep, so there are eight overall.”

“Okay, I guess we’ll have to get together and watch them then.”

“Yes! Please! Because then I can take you to Harry Potter Con and you, Hunter and I can all cosplay, and it’ll be awesome!”

The barista arrived at that point with their drinks, passing Felicity what looked like an iced coffee of some kind and then handing over a suspiciously green smoothie to Oliver. Both of them were in plastic take-out cups. “One caramel espresso frappe for Felicity, one Green Samba smoothie for Oliver and… a cup of ice cubes for Hunter.” She knelt down and placed a little plastic plate piled with ice cubes on the floor for the service dog, who licked her enthusiastically in thanks before beginning to scarf them down. “Thank you, guys. Enjoy!”

“Well… that looks interesting,” Felicity laughed as the archer took an experimental sip of his drink.

“It’s good,” he said. Pushing it over to her, he prompted, “Here, try it.”

She took a quick slurp, and Oliver very pointedly tried not to focus on where her lips were wrapped around the end of the straw, a faint smudge of her lipstick being left behind. “What is that? It’s mint, strawberry and… is that chocolate?”

“White chocolate, I think,” the archer grinned. “And I think there’s some cinnamon in there as well.” He rubbed the sole of his shoe over Hunter’s side lightly when the service dog made a curious, soft sound under the table, poking his head up slightly.

“It’s not too sweet, which is really nice. That tastes incredible,” Felicity said. “I might have to come back here and get one for myself.” She took another sip of his drink before sliding it back towards him. “Want to try some of mine?”

He shrugged. “Sure.” After tasting it, he winced and passed it back over to her. “It’s good, but it’s a little too sweet for me.”

“I imagine after five years of having little to no sugar in your diet, everything tastes too sweet for you,” Felicity said, shooting him a sympathetic look. It wasn’t pitying, however, so Oliver didn’t mind it.

“I threw up after eating ice cream for the first time when I got back,” he admitted. “Thea was so confused. It took her, Mom and Walter a few weeks to realise that I wasn’t eating any of the food we were having for dinner because it was too rich for me.”

“That sucks. Is it at least better now?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Raisa - she used to be mine and Thea’s nanny, but now she’s our housekeeper - has been helping me wean myself back onto proper food. I would probably enjoy your drink if it was without the caramel sauce.” Hunter snuffled into his leg, licking at his ankles again with a whine. It was the particular sound he made when he needed to go outside to relieve himself. “Hey, do you mind if I pop outside with Hunter for a sec. I think he needs to do his business.”

Felicity stood quickly, scooping up her drink. “Let’s go.”

“Oh, you don’t have to come -”

“It’s fine,” she smiled. “We should go for a walk in the dog park two blocks away so Hunter can get a run around.”

Oliver’s heart swelled with emotion. The fact that Felicity was so accepting of his service dog and was willing to go out of her way to make Hunter and him the most comfortable they could be just made him adore her even more. “Thank you.”

They ended up walking to the park together, letting Hunter off his leash and off duty for ten minutes or so he could run around freely, bursting through bushes and crushing vegetation as they followed along the park. The service dog always paused every few seconds to check where his master was before returning to his fun, and since it wasn’t very busy, with hardly any other dogs with their owners around, Oliver felt confident enough to let his pup explore.

Felicity babbled about random things as they strolled side by side, her enthusiasm and animated expression making the archer smile. He listened intently as she described why Goblet of Fire was her favourite Harry Potter book, but Prisoner of Azkaban was her favourite movie. She kept on stopping and blushing, muttering her apologies for talking so much, but Oliver just grinned widely at her and promised that he wasn’t bothered, that he liked listening to her opinions.

At some point, they must have gravitated so close to each other that their sides were brushing, because Oliver startled when Felicity slipped a warm hand into his, squeezing lightly. Their joint hands swung between them as they continued to walk, keeping an eye on Hunter as he sniffed at some trees. At first, the archer held himself stiffly - he’d hoped that some sort of romantic contact would be initiated, but he hadn’t expected it so soon, and to be honest, he didn’t know exactly what to do. It had been five years since he’d been on any kind of date; he was unused to hand holding. After a minute or so, however, Oliver found himself growing more comfortable with the contact, even risking entwining and tangling their fingers together, his thumb gently caressing her palm.

“This has been really nice,” Oliver murmured.

“I’ve enjoyed myself too,” Felicity replied happily. “But, I’ve gotta say, I think Hunter’s enjoyed himself the most.”

The archer laughed, glancing over at his service dog, who was now crouched low to the ground, belly brushing the grass as he stalked a squirrel. The squirrel darted off as soon as it heard the husky mix shuffle towards it. Instead of chasing after it as it ran off, Hunter just raised his head, a disappointed look passing over his face as his ears slumped.

“Yeah, he’s had fun.” He turned to Felicity, smiling as he questioned, “Ever been on a date with a guy with a dog third-wheeling before?”

“Have to say no,” the IT girl laughed. “Although I wouldn’t say Hunter’s third-wheeling. We are at the dog park specifically for him, after all.”

“Hmm. You did bring treats for Hunter and not for me. Maybe I’m the third-wheel, and this date is actually between you and my service dog.”

She prodded her elbow into his side. “Nah, I prefer my dates bipedal.”

“Good to know.”

“I used to have a dog,” the blonde mused, leaning into him and pretty much resting her head on his shoulder as they settled down on a bench. “He wasn’t a service dog, obviously. He was a Golden Retriever, named Lucky. I miss him. Hunter sort of reminds me of him sometimes.”

Oliver didn’t really know what to say. “I’m sorry,” he offered, voice uncertain.

“Oh, no! Don’t be! It doesn’t make me sad - well, it does, but since I have mostly good memories of him, thinking about Lucky actually makes me happy.” She sighed, kicking her feet back and forth. After a couple of seconds, she wound her arms around his, slipping her hand back into his. “My mom ended up looking after Lucky when I went to MIT and then when I moved here. I specifically searched for an apartment that would allow dogs so that I could take him back in after I got settled, but he ended up getting run over before that could happen.”

“That’s awful, I’m sorry,” the archer replied, eyes wide. He couldn’t even begin to imagine the devastation he would feel if Hunter was run over.

“He had a good life. Well, as good as a life as I could give him with us living with my mom,” she laughed.

“She sounds like an interesting woman.”

“Interesting is one way to put it,” Felicity snorted.

“Yeah, I think it’s the same with my mother as well. My dad always used to say that our mom was the alpha in our family; the person that’s secretly in charge.” He ran his hand that he wasn’t holding Felicity’s hand with through his hair, lips quirking up in amusement. “When it came to attracting investors for QC, he lured them in and then my mom would unleash her charm and intelligence to trap them. Before they would even understand what was going on, she would influence them into signing on. Dad always said she was his boss.” He sobered, eyes flicking down to frown at the ground. “Guess she’s Walter’s boss now, considering he’s dead.”

There was a solemn beat of silence. Oliver glanced over at Hunter, who had abandoned his leaf chasing to trot back up to them. Even though he was off duty, he could still sense the archer’s change in mood, so had come to investigate if he was okay. Oliver ordered him back on duty with a hand motion so quick that Felicity probably wouldn’t have seen, stroking over the service dog’s head fondly.

“If it makes you feel any better, my dad abandoned my mom and me when I was seven,” Felicity offered, tightening her grasp around his fingers gently in support. “He didn’t even say goodbye. He could be as good as dead for all I know. Frankly, I don’t care. But it’s caused me to have trust issues for the rest of my life.”

“Both of us have family issues that have messed us up then, huh.” He managed a weak grin.

“Oh yeah. Some good came out of it though - my dad leaving and the depression I slipped into afterwards was what resulted in my mom giving in and letting us adopt Lucky. Seven year old me was obsessed with puppies.” She reached out and, with a swift look over at Oliver to check if it was okay, joined in with fussing over Hunter, ruffling his scruff as the archer scratched under the dog’s chin. Their hands brushed, which caused Oliver to blush a little. “That obsession has not faded. It has remained constant for sixteen years.”

Oliver had known Felicity was twenty-three due to the file he’d compiled on her when first investigating whether or not she was a good candidate for future vigilante technology assistance. Their four year age gap did not bother him at all, but it was something that he knew other people would not approve of. That wasn’t even starting on the stark class difference between them. And he was constantly worried about being judged by those surrounding him, so he couldn’t help but shift nervously in his seat. Hunter instantly picked up on his unease and whined, licking his master’s hand as he rested his head on Oliver’s lap.

“I would love to have a dog again,” Felicity murmured. “To wake up with a dog lying on top of me and nuzzling my face, to snuggle on the couch watching movies and then go to bed with them cuddling up to me to keep me warm. It would be amazing.”

“Having a dog is pretty incredible.”

“Oh! OH! If we ever moved in together that would mean I would technically have Hunter! And he already adores me so that would be great, right!?”

If Oliver had been drinking anything, he would have spat it out in shock. Very slowly, he turned to face her with an expression that closely impersonated a deer in the headlights. Did Felicity even realise what she’d just said? What she’d just implied? It was only their first date, and she was already thinking about them moving in together in the possible future. He had to admit… while the idea hadn’t crossed his mind before, he was definitely thinking about it now.

It seemed to dawn on Felicity finally what exactly she had said, because she blushed crimson and spluttered, “I’m so sorry. I need to get some sort of permanent brain to mouth filter installed. That was so inappropriate to say considering this is our first date-between-friends-but-also-not-because-I’m-starting-to-think-it’s-not-just-platonic date.” If possible, her flush deepened, and she cleared her throat, looking so embarrassed that Oliver wanted nothing more than to hug her. Hunter sensed her disconcertion and shifted so he plopped his head down on her lap instead of his master’s, letting loose a purr-like noise to comfort her. “I shouldn’t have said that. I really shouldn’t have said that. I’m so sorry. I should just get my mouth sewn shut, it would be better for everybody so they wouldn’t be subjected to my awful babbles.”

“I love your babbles,” Oliver grinned at her.

“I think you’re the only one.”

He glanced down. “Hunter loves them too.”

“He’s a dog, Oliver.”

“An intelligent service dog,” he corrected. “And he likes you.”

“Does not change the fact that I am an awkward human being.”

“Who is confused about whether or not this date was platonic or something more?” Oliver guessed, squeezing her hand. She averted her gaze, appearing sheepish, but before she could say anything in response, the archer finished, “Because you’re not the only one.”

Felicity’s head jerked towards him, and she appeared relieved. “Yeah?”

Oliver nodded, stroking Hunter’s head. Seeing how the service dog was wagging his tail ferociously, almost crouching on his hind legs, he wrapped his arm around Felicity’s waist and scooched them sideways on the bench. The blonde squeaked, grabbing at his arms, but they managed to move over to the other side of the bench in time so that neither of them had a giant husky mix dog crashing into them as Hunter jumped up and sat beside them, propping his head on Oliver’s shoulder. He panted happily, licking his jaw before he crawled half across his master’s lap to nose curiously at Felicity’s arm.

“I’m going to be honest and say that I hoped this date wouldn’t be entirely platonic,” he admitted. “And after… well… all the hand-holding and physical contact and emotionally opening up to each other…”

“We accidentally but totally not-accidentally made this date the least platonic we possibly could, didn’t we?”

Oliver chuckled. “I think we did.”

“Well, there’s only one way we can finish this date.”

“Hmm?”

“We agree to go on another one,” Felicity said seriously, “With the full understanding that it’s not a platonic date.”

A jolt of shock ran through his system, because he hadn’t ever expected _this_ to be the outcome of this coffee date, but he wasn’t exactly going to protest when this was exactly what he’d silently been hoping for. “That sounds like a good idea,” he managed to get out without choking too much.

Hunter huffed next to him, butting his head against the archer’s arm.

“Hunter seems to approve,” Felicity said. “So, another date?”

“We should go out for dinner next time rather than coffee.”

Felicity didn’t get the chance to reply, because at that point, Diggle calmly jogged up to them from the right. He’d been parked outside the coffee shop during the date and then tailed them to the park as per his bodyguard duties required, but he’d respected Oliver’s desire to have some private time with the blonde, so had maintained his distance. The only reason he would be intruding on their date was if there was an actual threat approaching that he needed to alert Oliver of. Judging by the faint panic that the archer could see under the bodyguard’s calm, strict facade, there was something serious about to happen.

“Apologies for the interruption,” Diggle said politely, “Mr Queen, may I speak with you for a moment, please?”

“It’s okay, Dig, whatever you want to say to me, you can say in front of Felicity,” the archer replied. “Felicity, this is John Diggle, he’s my -”

“Bodyguard?”

“Babysitter,” Oliver answered.

Diggle rolled his eyes. “That’s what he likes to tell people. Hunter’s his babysitter, I’m his bodyguard. Although, keeping him out of the way of physical harm and harassment seems to be a minor part of my job, these days; I spend more time carting him around to make sure he gets to places on time and doesn’t embarrass himself at social gatherings.”

“What’s going on?” the archer questioned, crossing his feet at the ankles and watching as Hunter leapt down from the bench to go and sniff at the bodyguard in greeting. 

Grimacing, Diggle took a step sideways and cast a cold glance backwards. Across the park, there was a black van parked on the side of the street. “Paparazzi. They’ve kept away from you three for the last half an hour or so, but it’s only a matter of time before…”

“We should go,” Oliver nodded. “Sorry, Felicity, this really wasn’t how I wanted this date to end.”

“It’s okay,” she smiled quickly. “It’s the media, you can’t do anything about them, and they’ve been infatuated with you and Hunter lately if the headlines and gossip TV shows are anything to go by.”

“Gossip TV shows?” the archer repeated, raising an eyebrow.

Felicity blushed. “I don’t watch them… but my co-workers do.”

“It’s getting late, anyway,” Diggle chimed in, which prompted Oliver to check his watch, quickly clipping the leash onto his service dog’s collar. He was surprised to see it was nearing seven pm - they’d been on this date for around two hours. “Felicity, would you like a lift home?”

“That would be great,” she smiled. “I took the bus into work this morning because some of the streets in the Glades around my area were closed.”

Oliver already knew that Felicity didn’t live in the Glades per-say, but rather on the outskirts, but it still unsettled him to think she was living so close to such a crime-ridden area of the city. “You should really consider moving to a safer apartment, you know.”

Standing and brushing herself down, taking Hunter’s leash for a moment so Oliver could do the same for himself, the blonde attempted to comfort him, “Don’t worry, I’ve only been burgled twice.”

“That’s not reassuring in the slightest,” Oliver said, alarmed.

She leaned into his side as they walked, keeping a hold on the service dog’s leash for him. Diggle strode just in front of them, leading them back towards the Queen’s town car. “Hey, it’s fine. I’m an IT girl, remember? Ever since those incidents, I’ve installed the best, most advanced custom security locks and CCTV available. Haven’t been bothered since.”

“I’d still feel better if you moved somewhere safer in the city.”

“Unfortunately, until I have a higher monthly income so that I can afford a more expensive rent rate, that’s not going to happen. And _no_ , you can’t help me pay rent or buy me an apartment, Oliver.”

He almost pouted. Holding the back door open of the town car, he allowed Felicity to clamber in first, Hunter jumping in after her. Sharing a glance with his bodyguard, Oliver rolled his eyes when he saw Diggle smirking at him out of the corner of his eye. The journey to Felicity’s apartment on the edge of the Glades was a short one, only ten minutes in the heavy rush-hour traffic. They spent the time fussing over Hunter and discussing how the media had been relentless in their obsession with the archer and his service dog in their coverage since finding out that Oliver had Hunter. They shared the same opinion - the paparazzi needed to back off and let them have their space. Felicity didn’t seem to mind all that much when the archer hesitantly warned her that pictures of them in the park together may emerge online; she winked and promised they wouldn’t stay up there for long.

Once they arrived at Felicity’s apartment block, Oliver walked her to her door with Hunter plodding along gleefully at his side, Diggle parking the car up and keeping it running.

“Thank you for today,” the blonde said, unlocking her door and turning the alarm off before resting her shoulder against the door frame. She regarded him a shy smile, flicking a lock of hair behind her ear. “I had a lot of fun.”

“Me too,” Oliver agreed. “Although for our second date, we might have to try and arrange something where we’re out of the public’s line of sight.”

“That’s going to be pretty difficult.”

“I think so,” he confessed. “But… I want to make this work.” He reached out and carefully took her hand in his. “I like you, Felicity.” There was a growl from behind him. Oliver snorted in amusement, nodding back to include his service dog. “ _We_ like you.”

“I like you too,” she beamed.

Hunter whined, thumping his tail.

“Oh, don’t worry, buddy, Felicity _loves_ you,” Oliver informed him. Hunter shook out his fur with a satisfied look on his face, finally turning away and resting on his haunches to give the two of them a private moment.

“This may be way too forward,” Felicity said slowly, “But would you like to come around here? We could have dinner together… watch some of those Harry Potter movies you haven’t seen yet and snuggle with Hunter on the couch.”

Warmth blossomed in his chest, and a wide, genuine smile of pleasure spread across the archer’s face. There was a lightness fluttering in his chest that he knew was happiness. He was experiencing a weightlessness and contentment that he hadn’t felt for years. “That sounds incredible.”

“When are you free in the evening for the rest of the week?”

Oliver looked sheepish. “Um… every day? I usually make plans for lunch with my family and friends rather than dinner.”

“Oh! Well, do you… do you want to come around tomorrow night then?”

Somehow managing to contain his excitement and shock, the archer just nodded. Seeing as how Felicity was leaning forwards a little, smiling up at him with almost a halo of light around her head, Oliver gave in to the urge rolling in his stomach. He bent down, brushing his lips against hers and sinking down into the kiss. Felicity leant up, wrapping her arms around his neck and locking her fingers so their bodies were held flush together. Oliver inhaled sharply as he felt her tongue dance across her lower lip, but before he could fully respond, he was shoved out of the way forcefully. The archer stumbled backwards and Felicity crashed to the ground as Hunter bowled her over and began giving her a load of enthusiastic goodnight kisses of his own, licking and slobbering all over her face.

Mortified, Oliver grabbed his service dog by the collar and yanked him off her. “Hunter, no! Bad dog! We don’t jump on people! You’re supposed to be more well-behaved than this!”

Felicity, however, was laughing. Curled up on the floor, and undoubtedly horrifically winded from having a massive dog slamming her into the ground, but she was laughing. “I think Hunter was jealous he wasn’t getting in on the action,” she wheezed.

“I am _so_ sorry,” the archer winced. Hunter finally seemed to have calmed down and realised what he’d done was wrong, because he was whimpering pitifully and trying to nudge at Felicity’s legs apologetically. Kneeling, Oliver allowed the blonde to brace her forearms against his so he could help her back onto her feet. “Are you okay? That looked nasty.”

“I’m fine,” Felicity said, her head falling forwards onto his shoulder as she shook with laughter. “Was not expecting that.”

“I’m sorry,” he repeated. “He’s - he’s jumped up on a lot of people lately, it’s definitely something he needs disciplining on.”

“I don’t mind, it’s okay,” she assured him, patting the archer on the arm. “Goodnight, Hunter, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Oliver grinned fondly as Felicity ruffled the husky mix’s scruff, holding his face so she could press a kiss to his forehead. Hunter barked happily back at her, tail flying as he snuffled at her neck before sitting back down on his haunches and transforming back into obedient, serious service dog. The archer was pleasantly surprised when Felicity quickly went up onto her tiptoes to give him a swift peck on the cheek and then a chaste kiss on the lips, one that left him craving for more. “Goodnight, Oliver. Thank you for everything.”

“Goodnight,” he whispered, stepping back so that she could close the door.

Oliver waited until the lights inside the apartment had been switched on before leaving, heading back down to where Diggle was waiting in the car. There was a strange quivering sensation spreading through his chest and abdomen; it wasn’t unpleasant at all - it was more delicate than anything else. But it was nothing like anything he’d ever felt before. He wanted to leap into the air in elation, but also melt into a puddle of goo on the ground at the same time. Hunter nudged at the back of his knees to urge him forwards when he froze at the bottom of the stairs, coming to a sudden realisation.

He’d just gone on a date with Felicity. It had gone _well_. And they were going to have another date, meet up the next night at _her apartment_ , to have dinner and watch movies together.

They’d _kissed_.

“Looking a little faint there, Oliver,” Diggle called, the window rolled down on the car. “You okay?”

“Yep,” he replied. “Um. Just. Processing some things.”

“Want to do that in the car while I drive you back home? It’s getting late. Mrs Queen, Mr Steele and Miss Queen are wondering where you are.”

Oliver shot him an amused look as he clambered into the back seat, signalling Hunter to settle down so he was lying on the seats beside him. “How many times has Thea texted you, exactly?”

“I lost count somewhere after thirty-seven,” Diggle responded. “Most of the messages were in all caps. Let’s get you back to your family so they can interrogate you instead of me about your date with Miss Smoak.”

As soon as they arrived back at the Queen mansion, Oliver was met with Thea standing in the doorway. She squealed, clapping her hands together joyfully as soon as she saw the look on his face. “Mom! Walter! Oliver’s smiling!” she shouted, sprinting up to him and hugging him tightly. Chuckling, the archer embraced her back, dropping one hand down to stroke over Hunter’s ears as the service dog whined at being left out.

Both Walter and Moira appeared at the top of the staircase, appearing curious. “How did it go, sweetheart?” his mother asked in an anxious tone.

“Great,” Oliver replied, grinning.

Thea shrieked in delight, arms tightening around Oliver’s neck which made him flinch slightly.

“Thea, release your brother,” Walter told her. He greeted Hunter with a scratch under the chin as he descended the stairs, turning to the archer with a warm expression. “I’m glad it went well, Oliver, and that you enjoyed yourself.”

“You have to tell me _everything_ ,” Thea insisted.

“Oliver doesn’t have to tell us anything if he doesn’t want to,” Moira said sternly. 

“Are you going on another date?”

“Thea…”

“It’s okay, Mom,” Oliver reassured her. “And to answer your question, Thea, yes, we are.”

“When, when, _when, when?!_ ”

“Dinner, tomorrow night.”

Thea practically screamed, shaking the archer’s shoulders before running off.

“She seems excited,” Oliver observed. “Alright, I’m heading to my room. I’m exhausted, need to get an early night in”

He aimed a pointed glance Diggle’s way, as the bodyguard had just entered and was closing the front doors behind him. The night was young enough for the archer to engage in a short a Hood patrol. Hunter definitely wouldn’t like it, but the Vigilante hadn’t been spotted by the police for a couple of nights, so he needed to put an appearance out to curb any suspicion. Diggle gave a small nod of acknowledgement - he always appreciated it when Oliver let him know when he was going out onto the streets and putting himself in danger, most likely due to the fact that it gave the bodyguard some time to prepare himself and their supplies if the archer got injured.

“Goodnight,” his mother said, smiling. “Oh, and Oliver?”

“Hmm?”

“If you’re going to dinner with Miss Smoak… I am not micromanaging, but I will stand firm on the fact that I think you should wear a suit.”

“Goodnight, Mom.”

“At _least_ a tie.”

“Moira, let him be,” Walter laughed. “Goodnight, Oliver.”

“‘Night, Walter. C’mon, Hunter.” With one last shared look with Diggle, they silently agreed to meet outside near the entrance gates as they always did.

The service dog trudged up the stairs behind him, muzzle occasionally brushing at his master’s calves. He immediately bounded up onto the bed and curled up tiredly, daintily scraping his paws over his ears. Oliver sighed; of course Hunter would be exhausted after having to help him deal with his hyped-up anxieties all day, and the husky mix certainly wasn’t going to take it well when he realised that the archer was planning on going back out - and Hunter would end up spending half his night in the Foundry with Diggle, waiting for Oliver to come back, again.

As soon as the service dog caught sight of Oliver changing into black thermals, he dropped his head down onto the pillow with a loud groan, ears flicking back against his skull.

“Sorry, bud,” the archer said. “Just because I went on a date doesn’t mean I get to neglect my other duties.”

Hunter rolled over on the bed until he fell off it. He had an expression of disdain and exasperation on his face, and Oliver swore he saw the service dog roll his eyes as he went to stand by the door, ready to leave.

“You can sit on Felicity’s lap if she lets you tomorrow night while we’re watching movies?” The husky mix perked up instantly. “Yeah, I knew you’d like that idea. But I’m the only one who gets goodnight kisses from her tomorrow, Hunter. You know that, right?”

Snorting, Hunter swished his tail against the door frame on his way out, as if saying, _In your dreams, buddy._

* * *


	2. apartment antics (harry potter, wine & cuddles)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys. Sorry I haven't been able to update this since the first chapter. Been extremely busy lately (and I'll admit I got distracted by Arrow S6).
> 
> Thank you so much for all of your support, though. I've been receiving motivational messages and comments for months now and I've really appreciated it. You're all such lovely, wonderful readers and I don't deserve all of you xxx
> 
> You might have noticed I've changed this to 4 chapters instead of 3. There's no extra date, there's still four of them, it's just each date now has it's own chapter, as chapter 2 (this one) was getting too long as it contained both date 2 and date 3, and I needed to split it.
> 
> Massive thanks to Bev, who basically wrote the kiss scene in this chapter, and thanks to Sam and Marian as well who read the chapter over! I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> 4/10/18 - minor edits made to all chapters

* * *

“You are aware it’s at her apartment, right?”

Thea quirked an eyebrow at him, unimpressed. “You can still wear a tie.”

“I was thinking about wearing jeans and a shirt, honestly.”

“Oliver, stop trying to give your sister a heart attack,” Moira admonished him lightly, turning around from where she was sorting through a couple of his jackets and blazers.

The archer heaved a sigh, resisting the urge to drop his face into his hands. No matter how many times he informed his mother and sister that his second date with Felicity, which would be having dinner and watching movies in her apartment, was casual, they would not give in. They’d spent two hours or so already this morning debating over what he should wear. He was exhausted after a night of Hood work and when they had asked him over breakfast what his plans were to dress up, apparently the answer of ‘probably something like I did yesterday’ was not sufficient enough.

Maybe it was the because of the fact that six or seven years ago, before the Gambit’s sinking and his being shipwrecked, Ollie Queen would turn up to a first date wearing a tuxedo with a full fanfare of flowers, chocolates and the like. But he wasn’t Ollie Queen anymore. He wasn’t going to wear a restricting suit or tie when he and Felicity were planning on having a relaxing evening.

“Yesterday you said that I should wear whatever I think I’ll feel most comfortable in,” he reminded his mother.

“Yes, for a coffee date that wasn’t properly established to be a date.”

“Mom, we are eating dinner and watching movies,” he emphasised. “I do not need to wear a suit.”

Hunter barked from where he was resting on top of a rug near the window, watching the Queen family bicker. The service dog tilted his head sideways as Oliver sighed again, stretching while he clambered to his paws to jump up onto the bed and sit beside his master supportively. The glare the husky mix aimed at Moira and Thea seemed to scold them slightly, and they exchanged matching sheepish and guilty looks.

“Sorry,” Thea said. “We’re just… really excited for you. It’s not every day your big brother who just got back from being stranded on an island for five years goes out on a second date which is technically the first official date with a cute girl he likes.”

“And after the last month or so with you struggling to re-adapt since you’ve been back… with your mental health and Hunter and the fiascos with the press… we just want you to make sure this goes well for you, sweetheart,” his mother finished.

“It will,” he promised them. “I’m anticipating that it will go well. Yesterday went great, so I have high hopes for tonight.”

“Hey, you never told us whether or not there was a goodnight kiss.”

“Nice try, Thea,” Oliver smiled.

“Urgh! Why are you torturing me like this, Ollie!” Thea complained, stomping her foot on the ground in such a way that caused the archer to laugh. Memories of when his little sister had been younger and reacted the exact same way to not getting her own way surging to the front of his mind. After completing her sentence, however, Thea immediately paled, inhaling with a shudder. “Oh god, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

It took Oliver a moment to work out what she was getting so anxious about, but then when he mulled over what she’d said in his head, he figured it out. “Thea, it’s okay. I’m not going to flash every time somebody uses the word ‘torture’, you know.”

Walter stuck his head around the door, and the archer couldn’t have possibly felt more relieved. His family were constantly tip-toeing around him, avoiding the usage of words that research online had told them were ‘trigger words’ and could accidentally cause Oliver to slip into violent flashbacks. It was wonderfully supportive of them, and Oliver loved them for it - but if his mother or Thea apologised after saying the word ‘shipwrecked’ one more time, the archer was going to explode.

“The flowers have arrived,” the Brit informed them.

“Great.”

“You gave her chocolates yesterday,” Thea said, raising an eyebrow. “And you’re giving her flowers today? Do I hear wedding bells in your future?”

“You’re blowing this way out of proportion. It’s a second date, I’m not proposing to her.”

“Of course not,” Walter responded. “If you were proposing, I would have insisted we order red and white roses, not the pink camellias you chose.”

“And we would be wrestling you into a tux, not just advising you wear a suit,” Moira nodded.

“Oh boy,” the archer muttered.

His cell phone pinged from the beside counter. Oliver scrambled to grab it before Thea could lunge and snatch it up, and he quickly rose to his feet and whistled for Hunter to follow him. He could hear Thea grumbling to his mother about him shutting her out of his finally existing post-island love life as he descended the stairs, hoping to find a quieter room where he could reply to Felicity’s text messages in peace. After sitting down on one of the living room couches with Hunter lying beside him with his head on Oliver’s lap, the archer opened his phone, reading the text.

From: Felicity Smoak :) - _Hey, Oliver! I forgot to mention a time for you to come around last night. I don’t know what time you usually eat, but I normally eat at around 6ish. I’ll be at home anytime past 4 so feel free to come when you please :P._

Re: To Felicity Smoak :) - _Haven’t got any plans except taking Hunter out to park this afternoon so is five okay with you?_

Re: From: Felicity Smoak :) - _That’s great!!! Any preference for popcorn flavor?_

Re: To Felicity Smoak :) - _At home we get a mix of salty and sweet bc Thea and Mom like different things and I eat both so I don’t really mind._

Re: From: Felicity Smoak :) - _Does Hunter have a preference? ;)_

He laughed.

Re: To Felicity Smoak :) - _He’s a sweet kind of dog._

Re: From: Felicity Smoak :) - _Thought so haha. Hey what sort of food do you think we should have?? I’m a complete and utter mess in the kitchen so it’s probably better if either you cook or we get takeout. What are you thinking? Chinese? Pizza?_

“OLIVER!”

The archer glanced up, startled by Thea’s sudden scream from upstairs. Hunter gave a quiet yelp, raising his head from Oliver’s thighs and cocking it sideways. After a moment of silence, Oliver rubbed his eyes and stood with a sigh; he knew from experience that if he didn’t respond to his little sister within the next couple of minutes, Thea was going to come storming downstairs on the prowl for him. Entirely forgetting what exactly Felicity’s text had been about, the archer quickly texted back a short reply of ‘ _Yh sounds good!_ ’ before slipping his cell phone back into his pocket.

Thea skidded into Oliver just as he was turning the corner into the foyer, slamming into his shoulder. He reacted instantly by fiercely grabbing her wrists and holding her away from him, heart rate spiking as memories flashed through his mind of mercenaries tackling him to the ground on the island and attempting to murder him. Hunter growled at her, hackles rising and muscles tensing until Thea took a careful step backwards. She raised her arms into the surrender position to show she wasn’t any threat, but it was this movement that alerted Oliver to two pieces of fabric dangling from her hands.

“What are those?” he questioned, poking at the strange fabric pieces. He frowned when he realised that they were made of silky material, one of them thin and black and the other checkered red. “Are those… ties?”

“Yes! Special ties made specifically for dogs!” Thea waved them enthusiastically. “Which one do you think Hunter should wear? Mom thinks the red plaid, I think the black, Walter refuses to choose. You’re the deciding vote.”

“How many of those have you bought?”

“Not exactly sure - Walter has a whole drawer-full of them.”

The front doors opened, and Diggle’s appearance caused Oliver to sigh in relief; trust his bodyguard to turn up at the very best time to provide an opportunity to escape. Hunter dashed towards Diggle to greet him with head bumps and nudges before returning to his master’s side, sniffing at the ties that Thea was holding.

“Ready to go, sir?” the bodyguard asked.

Oliver nodded. “Let me just grab my jacket.”

“Wait, you’re going out?” Thea exclaimed, eyes wide. “Ollie, you can’t! We’ve got to prepare you for your date!”

“It’s ten in the morning and I’m meeting Felicity at her apartment at five.”

His little sister spluttered in protest.

“I’ll make sure he comes home by half three, Thea,” Diggle reassured her.

“You can’t make it half two?”

Oliver ignored her pointedly, jumping a little but smiling to himself when he heard her stomp her foot on the floor in frustration. “Can you please inform Mom and Walter I’m going out with Hunter and Diggle, and I’ll be back at three thirty to get ready?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Thea trudged back up the staircase in defeat, shooting him a half-hearted glare. “But you better agree to wear a tie.”

“Nope!” the archer called back, scooping up Hunter’s leash and shrugging on his favourite peacoat which had been hanging up on the coat rack. “Not happening!”

He, Diggle and the service dog ended up going for a run together around the Glades, Oliver enjoying some parkour, leaping and jumping off walls and up and down stairs, while the bodyguard looked on with an amused raised eyebrow and Hunter loped gracefully beside him. They returned to the Foundry nearing lunchtime to spar using Eskrima sticks for an hour under the husky mix’s intense watch. After another quick workout and hand-to-hand combat practice session, the two of them called it a day, partly because Oliver’s muscles were still a little sore after he’d overextended himself bounding from rooftop to rooftop in his patrol last night. The exercise and sparring distracted the archer from descending into an anxious spiral by overthinking his date with Felicity later on; he instead had to focus his spinning mind on his pounding heart, aching calves and sharp movements to avoid getting nicked with the sharp bamboo rods.

It was only once Oliver had stepped under the hot spray of the Foundry’s shower that his thoughts flitted back to the IT girl, and the evening they were going to spend eating and watching movies together. It was strange how… _not_ nervous he was. Yesterday, before his first date with Felicity, he’d pretty much been a quivering wreck. But he didn’t feel skittish, or on edge… he was excited. He felt safe when he was with Felicity. _Centered_. As if there was nothing he had to be scared of. That was partly due to the fact that for some reason, Felicity, unlike every single other person in Starling City, didn’t register as a threat. When Oliver looked at her, he saw a kind, caring, passionate woman, whose brain was a fountain of knowledge. Her voice started a wildfire within his heart with every words he spoke, and her smile was beautiful.

Oliver startled, almost slipping over and having to frame his hands up against the tiles as he came to a realisation. He… _trusted_ … Felicity. Oliver didn’t trust anybody - well, there was Hunter, but he certainly didn’t trust any human. How was it that Felicity was so different from the rest? How was it that out of everybody on the planet, Felicity Smoak was the one individual that caused Oliver Queen, who had been forged into a weapon after five years of hell, to feel butterflies in his stomach and hummingbird flutters in his chest with every glance his way?

Hunter’s whining and scratching at the shower room door jerked Oliver out of his musings, and the archer quickly got out and changed into spare, clean civilian clothing. Diggle drove him home so he arrived at precisely three thirty on the dot.

Managing to convince Thea, Walter and his mother that he didn’t have to wear a suit or tie to have dinner and watch movies with his date, Oliver departed the mansion to head over to Felicity’s wearing dark grey chinos and a blue denim shirt. He had the top button of the shirt undone and the sleeves rolled up slightly to make it more casual, under his little sister’s guidance, but he was wearing a black topcoat to keep him warm until he was inside. Thea really was much better at fashion than him these days. Hunter was wearing a short black tie with multi-coloured stars on it attached to his normal collar, and Walter had insisted on brushing him before they’d left.

It was only on the journey to Felicity’s apartment that Oliver hastily remembered something about food arrangements, although his memories were scatty, mostly because now he was actually going to see the IT girl within half an hour, he was getting nervous. Checking his phone gave him no answers. He immediately regretted his short reply to Felicity earlier, as he knew it could have been seen as rude, although she did reply with a smiley face emoji. Hunter tilted his head at the archer worriedly as he ran his hands through his partially gelled hair (once again, Thea’s doing) in apprehension. What should he do? He didn’t want to turn up to Felicity’s with no food if he was meant to - but he had no idea if he was actually meant to! Shaking himself, he asked Diggle to pull over at a grocery store and purchased ingredients to make pizza, because that was a meal so easy to cook that even Felicity, with her self-proclaimed awful cooking skills, would most likely not be able to mess it up. Oliver also bought a couple of ice-cream pints and bags of chips, figuring that it wouldn’t hurt.

Hunter lugged the bag of groceries up the stairs while Oliver carefully carried the bouquet of beautiful pink camellias he and Walter had picked out. Diggle waved from the pavement, giving him a thumbs up of encouragement before he drove off, which the archer appreciated. Exhaling slowly as he tried to calm his breathing, Oliver spread his weight evenly and prepared himself to knock. The front door of Felicity’s apartment seemed much more daunting than it had last night.

Turned out that he didn’t even need to knock. Oliver raised his fist, biting his lip anxiously, but the door swung open before he could make contact with it. All the oxygen immediately rushed out of his lungs, leaving him feeling breathless and incredibly light. Felicity was wearing a stunning pink embroidered lace dress, her blonde hair loose and falling in waves down her back. Her blue eyes were bright behind her glasses and she had a delighted smile on her face.

“Hi!” she greeted him.

“Hi. Hey,” he grinned.

They just stood there beaming at each other for a moment, Oliver running his eyes up and down the blonde as he couldn’t help but appreciate how beautiful she looked, and it looked as if Felicity was doing the same to him; the archer even caught her tongue darting out to quickly wet her lips before she gently bit her bottom one. With an exasperated huff at their stalling, Hunter ran forwards, bumping into Felicity’s legs as he slipped past her into the apartment, tail flicking upwards to brush against her hand.

“Oh!” Felicity glanced behind her at where the service dog disappeared. “Yeah, he’s got the right idea. Come in! Come in, come in, come in.” She ushered him inside, hand lightly resting on his arm as she guided him into her living room.

Oliver took a quick couple of seconds to admire her decorating. The living room was bright and homey, the furniture arranged in such a formation that it made the room appear cosy and lived in. He chuckled quietly when he saw that Hunter had jumped up, dropped the grocery bag on the kitchen counter and then settled himself on top of Felicity’s couch, curled up half under a blanket that had been spread out over it. His service dog really liked couches. First the couch at the mansion, which Moira had banned him from but Hunter stretched himself out on anyway, and now Felicity’s couch.

“Looks as if he’s already made himself at home,” Felicity laughed, flicking a lock of hair behind her ear.

“Sorry,” Oliver sighed. “He does that. Hunter, off.” The service dog grumbled, shooting him a dirty look, but slid down onto the floor, dragging the blanket with him so he could resume his curled up position. “Thank you.”

“It’s okay, I don’t mind him sitting up there.”

“He’s got a bit of an obsession with lying on couches. He’s not actually allowed up on ours at home,” Oliver admitted to her. “But whenever he does jump up onto it, it’s usually because he’s calming me down from an anxiety episode, so my mom and Raisa can never tell him off. So he’s learnt that as long as he puts his head on my lap or it looks as if he’s comforting me, he’s allowed up on couches. I’m kind of surprised he jumped up onto yours so quickly though.”

“Probably because he knows I would let him.”

There was another pause, where they just stood and gazed at each other. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence, however - it was simply a short moment they were able to enjoy each other’s presences. Oliver didn’t often feel with other people in the room with him due to his constant threat processing, but since Felicity was _different_ , he could just… relax.

Glancing down at the bouquet of camellias he was holding, the archer offered them to the blonde, blushing as he said quietly, “I got these for you. I hope you like them.”

“Oh, Oliver, they’re wonderful,” Felicity whispered, gently taking the flowers and dancing her fingers over the cerise petals. “Thank you.”

“Walter helped pick them out.”

She beamed at him, and there was such joy in her expression that Oliver felt as if her pure light was just radiating onto him, expunging the darkness in his soul. “Then you can tell him he has exquisite taste. Well, he’s British, that’s a given. Let me just grab a vase to put these in, they’re so beautiful - hopefully I’ll be able to keep them alive longer than my cactus. Take a seat; do you want a drink?”

“Just water for now, thank you,” he answered. “Um, I brought ice-cream, it probably needs to go in the freezer.”

“I’ll take that then! You didn’t have to.”

“I wanted to.”

Taking off his coat and folding it in his lap, the archer perched on the end of the couch; Hunter shifted so that he was lying on top of Oliver’s feet, licking at the archer’s shoes before dropping his head down on top of them. He watched as Felicity quickly put away the food in the fridge and freezer and then went on a hunt through her cupboards for a glass vase. His lips quirked up into a grin as the IT girl placed the camellias in the vase with some water on the kitchen counter, arranging them neatly.

She’d already set out a jug of water on the coffee table with a couple of glasses, so poured them both a glass, handing his over. “I pulled out one of my favourite bottles of wine for later. I’m not sure if you drink or if you even like red wine -”

“I do,” he replied quickly.

“I thought we could each have a glass with dinner and while watching the first Harry Potter movie.”

“That’s a good idea,” he smiled. “I haven’t really indulged in much alcohol since I’ve been back, but I’m happy to enjoy a nice glass of wine with you.”

“Are you sure? We don’t have to open the bottle - it was just a suggestion. I’m totally fine with making tonight non-alcoholic if you -”

“Felicity,” he interrupted. She flushed red, ducking her head down slightly, and Oliver’s heart palpitated. She was adorable. “It’s okay. A little wine later is a great idea. I’m not driving and I feel comfortable around you. Besides, Hunter can keep an eye on me.”

Felicity started laughing as Hunter raised his head from Oliver’s shoes, ears perking up at the sound of his master saying his name. Tail thumping happily as he realised that Felicity was _finally_ concentrating on him, Hunter shook with excitement. He rolled onto his back to expose his belly to her. When the blonde didn’t immediately bend down to pay him some attention, the service dog whined. “Aww, that’s adorable. Can I pet him?”

“He’s supposed to be on duty, but I have a feeling he’s not going to leave you alone until you do. So…” He raised his eyebrows at the dog, telling him. “Off-duty, Hunter.”

He barked in acknowledgement and wiggled enthusiastically until the blonde knelt down to fuss over him.

Stroking and scratching at the service dog’s chest and belly, Felicity cooed, “Who’s a good boy? The bestest boy?” Hunter’s head fell backwards, tongue lolling out of his mouth in utter bliss. Oliver snorted at how utterly high his service dog looked. “Who’s the smartest boy? Who’s the most handsome boy?”

The archer smirked, leaning back into the cushions as he quipped, “You flatter me.”

“I could not have been more clearly talking to the dog,” Felicity replied, glancing up at him with a wide, teasing grin.

Oliver placed his hand on his chest, pretending to be offended. “Are you implying that I’m _not_ the bestest, smartest and most handsome boy?”

“I don’t know, Oliver, you’re up against some fierce competition here. Look at him, he’s wearing a little tie. He’s adorable, I think I would die for him. But don’t worry, my preference for my dates to be bipedal hasn’t changed since yesterday, and as far as I know, Hunter still walks on four paws.”

She clambered back up onto the couch from where she was knelt on the floor fussing over the service dog, linking her arm with Oliver’s and leaning into his side. Oliver instantly reached out to grasp and squeeze her hand, his other hand falling to stroke Hunter as the husky mix grumbled at Felicity turning her attention back to his master.

“When do we want to start cooking dinner?” Oliver questioned.

Felicity appeared confused. “I’m sorry, _cooking_?”

“I’ll do most of it. But it’s pizza, so I doubt you’ll be able to mess it up, despite being a - what was it you said? A ‘complete and utter mess in the kitchen’?”

Shaking her head in bemusement, Felicity spluttered, “I… ordered Chinese to be delivered.”

The archer blinked. “Oh,” he said dumbly, surprised.

“Sorry! Your - your last text response was pretty vague and I guess you must have had to rush off because it didn’t really answer my question. I just assumed we were going to order take-out because of how useless I am in the kitchen, and making my guest cook for me in my own apartment is not good dating etiquette.”

“No, don’t apologise, it’s my fault. I didn’t communicate well enough.”

“You do like Chinese food, right?” she asked nervously. He nodded, gently rubbing his thumb over the top of her hand reassuringly. She sighed in relief, bringing her legs beneath her on the couch so she could curl up to his side, leaning on his shoulder. “Good. Delivery guy is supposed to drop it off at six and I ordered enough to feed an army. Want to watch fifteen minutes of the first HP movie while we wait?”

The delivery of the Chinese was slightly late by about ten minutes, so they ended up watching nearly half an hour’s worth of the Philosopher’s Stone. Felicity insisted that he call it that - it was the proper title of the book and the film when first released in Britain, after all. In the USA, it had renamed it the Sorcerer’s Stone because apparently it was thought by publishers that a child would not want to read a book with the word ‘philosopher’ in the title. The blonde came out with all sorts of interesting facts that she would whisper into his ear as they watched, snuggled up together under a blanket with Hunter lying on their laps. Oliver smiled when Felicity slipped her hand into his, resting their joint hands on the service dog’s back as she scooted closer to the archer so she could rest her head on his shoulder. The archer had to admit, he was definitely paying more attention to Felicity’s changing expressions than Harry, Ron and Hermione’s growing friendship.

Hunter’s head shot up, ears flicking back and forth underneath his master’s stroking fingers. His fierce growl and coiled muscles as he angled himself towards the apartment front door allowed Oliver to warn Felicity that somebody was approaching. Oliver remained on the couch, petting the husky mix as he continued to rumble protectively until the blonde had closed and locked the door, balancing a large cardboard box full of cartons of Chinese food in her arms.

Oliver jumped up to help, managing to lunge forwards and catch a couple of falling cartons before they hit the floor. Felicity looked at him in surprise, but just ended up shaking her head in amusement, leading him into the kitchen area so they could put everything down and dish up. The dining table had already been set in advance, so they only needed to serve themselves and crack open the bottle of wine. When Felicity had claimed she’d ordered enough food to feed an army, she hadn’t been kidding. They used two cartons of Singapore noodles, one of sweet and sour prawns, one of deep fried shredded beef and one of kung pow chicken between both of them, and that must have been barely a third of what had been delivered. Hunter didn’t go hungry either; to Oliver’s astonishment, Felicity had specially bought a metal dog bowl and a little chicken and gravy food sachet for him, so he could join them for dinner.

While the service dog dug into his meal with gusto a metre away, Oliver and Felicity took a more relaxed approach and conversed as they ate.

“And that is why I’ve been put off satay chicken forever,” the blonde finished with a flourish, sipping at her glass of wine as she completed her story.

“How did you not know that peanuts are one of the main ingredients in satay sauce?” Oliver questioned.

“I mean, I was twelve. How was I to know? When I told the doctor at the ER after I’d mostly recovered that I couldn’t understand why I’d had a severe allergic reaction to peanuts when eating satay chicken, she almost passed out she was laughing so hard.” She propped her chin on her hand, asking curiously, “Are you allergic to anything?”

“Fish.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Seriously? All fish?”

He laughed. “No. I’m not actually allergic to anything at all, to my knowledge. I just had a really bad experience with a particularly big fish on the island; since I’ve been back, I’ve been telling people I’m allergic to fish as a sort of a joke at my own expense.”

“Ooh, what kind of big fish?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Try me.”

Oliver glanced over at Hunter. The husky mix raised his head from the dog bowl, licking gravy from his lips and whiskers with a tilt of his head. Turning back to Felicity, his lips quirked up into a mischievous smile as he answered honestly, “Great white shark.”

She didn’t even laugh. She just stared at him with wide eyes for a couple seconds before saying quietly, “Oh my god.”

“It was a baby,” he said. “Only ten feet from nose to tail fin.”

“Only ten feet?!”

“Yeah, just a pup.”

“What kind of bad experience?” She quickly added, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I realise I’m being a bit nosy, you can tell me to shut up if you want.”

“I don’t mind,” Oliver reassured her, taking a sip of the wine. He actually didn’t. It was shockingly easy to open up to Felicity about the island, probably because he knew she was respectful of his boundaries. “What happened is actually why I say I’m allergic - it’s funnier to me if I relate it to food - it was to do with eating.”

“You _ate_ a great white shark?”

“More like it ate me. Or tried to, anyway. I punched it in the gills and it swam away. Nearly bled out after it bit me and the scar it caused is particularly ugly, but I’m just glad it didn’t take a larger chunk out of my side.”

Felicity looked stunned.

Rushing up to the table and dancing on his paws, Hunter barked three times before sneezing and sitting down, ears flicking back against his head. Oliver reached over to stroke over his head to settle him, wondering whether the service dog was responding to Felicity’s fluctuating emotions or his owner’s sudden nervousness at perhaps admitting a little too much.

“That’s awful,” the blonde finally said. “I’m sorry… I really shouldn’t have asked.”

“It’s okay,” he told her gently. “I’m not going to lie, I don’t particularly enjoy talking about what happened on the island. It wasn’t a very nice place.” Seeing how tears were beginning to well in Felicity’s eyes, he reached over and laced their fingers together, squeezing her hand. “But I’ve been told numerous times that I’m meant to talk about it. It will apparently help me get past the trauma of it. If I have open up, I’d much rather talk to you; I find it so much easier to speak to you about it than anybody else. You don’t pressure me for answers and you give me the option to reply… and you give me the time I need to formulate a response if I want to. I appreciate your willingness to listen and your respect of my personal boundaries.”

She nodded, hastily wiping her tears away. “I’ll always listen and respect you, Oliver.” She laughed quietly under her breath. “Sorry, it’s stupid for me to be crying. This dinner really took a turn.”

“Maybe it should take another one,” he said, his eyes flitting down to her lips before he could stop himself.

Felicity’s breath hitched. She scrubbed at her face again and when she met Oliver’s eyes, her gaze was heated. They were leaning towards each other without even realise how close they were getting, until they were barely inches away from each other. The archer managed to fight the urge to quickly reduce the distance between them and kiss her, but swallowed heavily when Felicity licked and then scraped her teeth over her lip.

Before they could decrease the gap between them further, Hunter leaped up onto the table again with a howl. Both of them to yelped in surprise, jolting backwards. Their sudden movements knocked the table and Felicity’s glass of wine flew towards Oliver. He grabbed it by the stem, stopping it from spilling and shattering on the floor, but wine ended up sloshing over the rim and splattering onto his shirt.

“ _SHIT_ ,” Felicity said, panicked. “I’m so sorry!”

“S’not your fault,” Oliver reassured. He turned to Hunter with a glare but the service dog seemed to have already realised he’d done something bad, because he’d curled up beneath the table with a whimper, apologetic eyes blinking up at his master. “You have a seriously bad jumping-up habit we definitely need to break out of you, bud. You’ve ruined this shirt.”

Felicity had already dashed out of her chair over to the kitchen, where she was pulling a bottle of white wine out of a cupboard and filling up the sink with hot water. “Quick, take it off and give it here. It might still be salvageable.”

Oliver stripped it off without a second thought. He shot one last scolding look towards the whining husky mix and commanded him to stay under the table before striding over to join the blonde in the kitchen. Taking his shirt, Felicity swiftly poured table salt over the red stain. He watched curiously as she blotted, massaging the salt into the fabric before dabbing a little white wine into the shirt. Once it was soaking in the hot water, Felicity seemed a bit calmer.

“I’ll have to put it in the wash overnight,” she informed him, “But it should be okay in the morning.”

“Thank you. I’m really sorry about Hunter - he knows that he’s not meant to be playful when he’s on duty. You didn’t get any wine on you, right?”

“It’s fine! You caught the wine glass - nice reflexes, by the way - and you only spilt it on yourself.”

Oliver frowned. He was standing directly behind Felicity but she was still angling herself towards the counter. It appeared as if she was reluctant to turn around to face him, keeping her gaze lowered to the sink. “Why won’t you look at me?” he asked quietly.

“I don’t want you to think that I’m staring,” she whispered.

Staring?

_His scars._

Oliver immediately tensed. Felicity had seen his scars. She knew what a monster he was. WIthout even realising it, Oliver had exposed every piece of physical trauma covering his body for her to scrutinise and as a result… made himself vulnerable. A wave of dizziness crashed over him, forcing the archer to clutch at the counter for balance as breathing suddenly became incredibly difficult. No. He couldn’t be vulnerable. He trusted Felicity enough to be open with her but vulnerability in any situation was bad. Head swimming and aching, he felt as if his lungs were being constricted. His inhalations were stuttered and shallow as he struggled to get oxygen into his lungs. He was slipping very quickly into a panic attack and it was too late to stop it.

Hunter howled in alarm.

Despite not being on duty, the service dog rushed over to Oliver, whining worriedly as he pressed into his master’s legs. Oliver reached down to bury his hands into the husky mix’s soft pelt, trying to ground himself. Everything was blurry and he couldn’t properly see anything, so he used the sensation of Hunter’s fur to focus himself as memories of the island scratched for purchase in his thoughts. He couldn’t help but flinch minutely when he felt gentle hands take hold of his arms, beginning to guide him carefully from the kitchen back into the living room. A warm weight settled into Oliver’s side on the couch as Hunter jumped up to plaster himself to the archer’s lap, licking at his hands, arms, neck and face. The wet saliva helped anchor Oliver to the present.

And there, throughout it all, a calm, comforting voice reassuring him, “It’s okay, Oliver, you’re safe. You’re here with me in my apartment in Starling City, you’re not on the island. Come back to us. You’re not in any danger and you are _safe_. Everything is fine, I promise. Come back.”

Although his sight was compromised due to the pounding headache, he believed the voice because this didn’t feel or smell or sound like the island. And if the voice was right about him not being on the island, then the voice had to be right about them being safe. The tightness in Oliver’s chest eased slightly, the fog in his mind clearing.

He must have made a small sound of relief because the voice soothed, “There you go. Are you coming back?” Something warm and soft, although light in weight, was draped over his shoulders. The archer shuddered. “It’s alright, Oliver, Hunter and I are here for you. Come back to us.”

And finally, he did.

There was still a faint fluttering of anxiety coiled up in his chest that caused his hands to tremble, but he was aware of where he was, what was going on and who he was with. Oliver was safe with Felicity and Hunter in her apartment. His panic attack had been triggered by his own unexpected vulnerability.

Felicity and Hunter had helped him through it.

God, he’d seriously ruined this date, hadn’t he?

He ruined _everything._

Now Felicity knew how truly messed up he was mentally. She would never want to be with him after this. He knew that he couldn’t have stopped himself from being triggered and succumbing to a panic attack, but he still felt as if he’d screwed up.

“I’m sorry,” Oliver whispered, pulling the blanket she’d wrapped him in tighter. He wanted to cover himself up as much as possible. “I didn’t want… I didn’t mean for this… I’m so sorry.”

He didn’t know he was crying silently until the blonde shifted so she was kneeling in front of him, wiping his tears away with her thumbs before hesitantly taking his hands. “It’s okay,” she said, her eyes concerned yet empathetic. “It’s not your fault. Panic attacks happen, Oliver, and honestly, I _understand_. This is not your fault.”

Something in his expression made him think that she blamed herself for this. “It’s not yours either,” he said quietly.

“We’ll have to agree to disagree on that one,” she muttered to herself. Hunter snuffled into her neck from where he was resting on Oliver’s lap and she stroked over his head, praising him for his quick response to his master’s distress. “Can I hug you? It’s okay if you don’t want me to.”

He nodded, fingers playing with the blanket’s tassels agitatedly.

“I’m going to get you a t-shirt first,” she said. “I have a couple of medium men’s sized ones that I like to sleep in… I’ll be back in a second.”

She vanished into her bedroom and returned as quickly as he left, a light grey t-shirt in hand. Smiling, she re-joined him on the couch, passing the clothes over. Oliver pushed the blanket off his shoulders and yanked the t-shirt on quickly. He finally felt as if he was able to breathe properly now his scars weren’t on show. The two of them moved so they were lying down and cuddling each other, Oliver on his back with Felicity curled up on top of him, Hunter next to her. The physical contact and weight of Felicity and Hunter resting on him somehow placated the archer further, the last dredges of the tenseness brought on by the panic attack fading away.

“I’m sorry if what I said about not wanting to stare at your scars made you panic,” Felicity mumbled into his chest. “I only caught a glimpse of them and I didn’t look any more than that, I promise.”

“I wish you hadn’t seen them at all.”

She made a slightly confused noise. Hunter huffed and nuzzled her, but the service dog eventually retreated to the end of the couch, lying on top of their feet. Felicity had an expression on her face that was prompting him to explain, and although he was hesitant, Oliver wanted to. She deserved an explanation.

“They’re a physical representation of how broken I am,” he continued softly. “I know I shouldn’t be ashamed of them - they prove that despite all the odds being stacked against me, I stayed strong and I survived. But I don’t like being vulnerable in front of people and showing them my scars… when people see them, they immediately judge me. They change their behaviour around me, treat me as if I’m damaged and they need to be gentle with me. Most often, they end up pitying me. It makes me feel weak. I hate it. So I hate my scars.”

“Hey. Look at me.”

He did so reluctantly, glancing down. Felicity had her chin propped on her arm and was trailing her fingers over his shoulder affectionately. Her gaze was fixed on him, intense and fierce, the blue in them shining.

“You’re right, they show how strong you are as a person,” she told him, “Physically and mentally, for you to have fought to survive and return to your friends and family. And seeing them, that’s how I _know_ I don’t have to pity you, or treat you gently. I know you’ll never see it like this, but... I see your scars as badges of determination, and defiance. They don’t make feel sorry for you, Oliver, they make me _admire you_.”

The husky mix stretched across the cushions to lick at the archer’s cheeks when tears tracked down his face again. He swallowed heavily and rested his cheek on the crown of her head. “You are truly the kindest human being I’ve ever had the fortune of knowing,” he murmured, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her close.

She smiled sadly at him, rubbing her thumb over his collarbone. “That true?”

“Definitely.”

Oliver shifted back just slightly so his back was supported on the couch cushions, and as he did, Felicity moved on top of him to meet his gaze. He let out a shaky breath, letting his eyes trail down to her lips. His heart rate sped up and butterflies formed in his stomach. Not necessarily due to anxiety, but from nerves nonetheless. She looked at him with a knowing smile, soft and sweet, giving him silent permission. But Felicity didn’t push him either way; she let him decide what he was ready for.

He carefully leaned in, pressing his lips to hers. His eyes fluttered shut. Her lips were so soft and held so many promises. She kept her hand moving across his collarbone, a gentle caress, keeping him calm and grounded. His own hand glided across her back. She shivered under his touch. Oliver got braver, he nipped her lower lip softly. When she didn’t protest, he did it again, but gave an equally soft tug.

As she returned the favor, a cold nose pressed against his cheek, followed by several licks to both their faces. They parted quickly, both sucking in a few deep breaths. Hunter looked at the both of them, tongue lolling out the side of his mouth, a wide smile across his face. Instead of awkwardness, laughter fell from both their lips. It was hard to be upset when all the service dog wanted was some attention too. The two of them sat up properly on the couch, elbows and legs brushing as they made space for him.

“Come here, you big goofball,” Oliver chuckled.

His tail wagging ferociously, Hunter clambered over them so he was squeezed between them. Both Oliver and Felicity kissed the dog’s face at the same time, resulting the Hunter wiggling happily, turning to snuffle at their faces again.

“Ready to finish the movie?” the blonde questioned, reaching forwards to grab the TV remote.

“You bet,” he answered.

“I forgot to ask earlier, when’s Mr Diggle picking you up?”

“I… didn’t give him a specific time,” he realised.

“Well, we can finish the movie and then you can decide if you want to stay or leave.” Her eyes widened and she hid her face in his shoulder. “Not that I’m saying you’d _want_ to stay. _Or_ want to leave. It’s just - we didn’t really establish whether you’d be staying overnight, and I didn’t wanna ask because that might be too forward for a second date and -” She groaned adorably. “I should probably stop babbling.”

He smiled at her warmly. “Felicity. It’s fine. I think my family are expecting me home late tonight but Diggle said I could text him to ask for a pick-up whenever. We can definitely finish this movie and maybe even start another one. Besides, we need to eat that ice-cream I brought with me.”

“And maybe…”

He raised an eyebrow. “‘Maybe’...?”

“Maybe we can kiss a little bit more?” she asked, blushing.

“We can _definitely_ kiss more. And cuddle.”

“Oh yes, lots and lots of cuddling, please.”

Hunter whined, nosing at Oliver’s arm.

Rolling his eyes, the archer ruffled the dog’s scruff, reassuring him, “You can have some kisses and cuddles too, bud.”

Starting the DVD from where they’d stopped it earlier, they curled up and continued to watch the Philosopher’s Stone. Hunter decided to hop down and lie down on the floor under the coffee table, beginning to nap as the two humans cuddled each other. At one point, Felicity sort of wrapped herself around the archer and rolled over so she was lying on her side and sort of spooning him from behind, pressed to the couch’s back cushions. Oliver instantly relaxed, surprised at himself for how at ease he felt with the blonde holding him. He felt secure, almost protected.

Felicity’s lips brushed against his ear, causing him to shiver as she whispered, “This totally means we’re officially dating, right?”

He kept his gaze focused on the boy wizard who was playing in his first Quidditch match on screen but gently took hold of one of her hands, stroking his fingertips over her knuckles. “If that’s okay with you, yes.”

“So we can refer to each other as boyfriend and girlfriend?”

“I certainly hope so.”

Felicity nodded, squeezing his fingers. “Good.”

She sounded pleased. Oliver smiled, amused. “You think it’s important we establish that?” he asked.

“You don’t think it is?”

“No, I think it is. I just didn’t realise that you would.”

She tightened her arms around him ever so slightly. “I want to be your girlfriend. And I want you to be my boyfriend. I want people to know that I’m yours and you’re mine. Not in a possession sense but - in a romantic couple sort of sense.” Hunter raised his head from under the coffee table with a sharp snort, his ears pricking. “Don’t worry, Hunter, I’m not going to steal him away from you.” The service dog made a satisfied sound and lowered his head, tucking his paws beneath him. “Protective, isn’t he?”

Oliver hummed in agreement. “Just a bit. He’ll have to get used to sharing me with you. It shouldn’t be a problem considering how much he loves you already.”

“It might be when he realises he can’t be included in kisses and cuddles all the time.”

“I don’t think he’ll mind that much,” he shrugged.

“Want to test that?”

The archer tilted his head thoughtfully, twisted around and kissed Felicity for a few seconds. She immediately responded, her fingers grasping his t-shirt. It was over far too quickly for his liking, and for Felicity’s too, judging by her sad pout and licking of her lips. But it would be one of many kisses to come, and this one had served its purpose; Oliver swiftly glanced over at the service dog, checking on his reaction. Hunter had lifted his head again and was eyeing the two humans beadily, his whiskers twitching. It was hard to discern his emotions, but after a moment, the dog startled and contorted himself as he began to scratch one of his hind paws over his shoulder. If he’d been truly bothered by not being included in the kiss, he surely would have jumped up to interrupt them, growled or whimpered.

“Tested,” he said, grinning at Felicity. “He doesn’t mind.”

They spent the rest of the evening and night finishing watching the Philosopher’s Stone and then the Chamber of Secrets after that. Ice-cream pints were devoured, bags of chips were emptied and more importantly, there were lots and lots more kisses. When Oliver finally had to call Diggle and leave once it neared eleven pm, he felt strange not having a form of bodily contact with Felicity, after being able to touch and cuddle her for several hours.

Their goodnight kiss would have turned into a make-out session against Felicity’s apartment’s door had Diggle not cut in, interrupting them with a teasing, “All right, love birds, break it up. Not in front of Hunter, he’s an innocent pup.”

“Aw, he’s okay with it, aren’t you, bud?” Felicity said, kneeling down to pet the service dog, fussing over him before they left.

“He might be, but I’d rather not have to wash my eyes out with bleach anytime soon.”

Oliver rolled his eyes, glancing over at his bodyguard. “Can you give us a minute, please?”

“You just had six hours with each other,” Diggle deadpanned.

“A minute,” Oliver repeated. “Please? I’ll meet you at the car.”

Shaking his head in exasperation, Diggle retreated back down the stairs, heading back towards the car. Hunter looked between the bodyguard and his master with Felicity and must have come to the conclusion he would be less bored going with Diggle, and after getting permission from Oliver, trotted off after him, leaving Oliver and Felicity alone.

“I’ll see you soon,” Felicity told him softly.

“Very soon,” Oliver corrected. He flicked a stray lock of blonde hair behind her ear gently, leaning in to hug her. “I was planning on taking Hunter out on a day-trip to the Gem Cities’ National Park next week, as a reward for good behaviour… would you like to come with us?”

“Count me in,” she beamed. “Just text me the date and time and I’ll be ready.”

“Great.” He couldn’t resist the urge to lean in for one more kiss.

It was short and sweet and he wished it was longer, but Felicity pulled back with a laugh, telling him, “Diggle will be angry with us both if you don’t go down to the car in the next thirty seconds or so like you said you would.”

“So eager to get rid of me?” he smirked.

“Can’t have Diggle thinking I’m a clingy girlfriend, can I?”

“If anybody is the clingy one here, it’s probably me.”

She raised her hands defensively. “Hey, you said it, not me.”

He laughed quietly. “Goodnight, Felicity.”

“Goodnight,” she echoed.

Diggle was feeding Hunter a couple of his favourite treats in the car when Oliver finally clambered in, sliding over to give the service dog more room in the footwell. The bodyguard stared at him expectantly for a moment.

“Well?” he prompted.

Oliver blinked. “Well, what?”

“How’d it go!?”

He broke out into a smile. The archer could see that Diggle was genuinely shocked by it. “Really, really well.”

“So, are you and Felicity officially a thing?”

He exhaled, nodding. His grin seemed to have been permanently etched into his face. “We’re dating.”

The closest word to what Diggle currently appeared like was ecstatic. “Damn. Who would’ve thought. The Starling City Vigilante has a girlfriend, and he’s a complete sap around her.”

“I’m not a sap.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m not.”

“Then why can’t you stop smiling when we’re talking about her?”

Oliver shook his head. Diggle was right, he actually couldn’t stop smiling. “It’s Felicity,” he said simply, as if that explained everything.

But somehow, Diggle seemed to understand. The bodyguard nodded, turning back to the street and starting up the car’s engine. “It’s Felicity.”

Hunter’s head shot up from where it was resting on his master’s foot, searching around wildly. He whined anxiously when he realised that his favourite person (Oliver loathed to admit it but it was clear that the service dog loved her) was missing. He gazed up at Oliver with big, wide, sad blue eyes.

“I think somebody misses someone,” Diggle chuckled.

“I don’t blame him,” Oliver shrugged.

“How come?”

The archer glanced out the window, his lips ticking up and a warm feeling in his chest. “It’s been barely five minutes since we left and I already miss her too.”

* * *


	3. park excursions (kisses on the side)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back! Thank you for all your patience waiting for the next chapter of this fic. I'm so happy that you're all enjoying it so much and so invested in Oliver and Felicity's journey together with Hunter!
> 
> Thank you very, very much to Sam (@ghostfoxlovely, CheerUpLovely) for her wonderful support and beta-ing! She's who you all have to thank for this chapter being posted today. She spent all day yesterday cheer-leading me.
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter xxx
> 
> 4/10/18 - minor edits made to all chapters

Oliver turned to the next page in his book, holding it up in front of him as he absentmindedly dropped one hand to stroke over his service dog’s head. He was lying on his back on top of his bed, Hunter curled up beside him. It was mid-afternoon on a Monday, and it had been four days since his date with Felicity at her apartment. They’d agreed to take Hunter to the Gem Cities’ National Park tomorrow, as Felicity had more than a couple of vacation days to use up; in her words, she could afford to take the day off work to enjoy a day out with the archer and his service dog.

He was tired after a hard night of vigilante work and hadn’t left his room all day, apart from to take Hunter outside for a quick run around and a few toilet trips. On days like this, his family didn’t really disturb him. Oliver reckoned that they thought leaving him be when he wanted to be alone was the best thing. Which was why he was entirely too surprised to hear a hesitant knock on his closed bedroom door.

“I’m here,” he called.

His mother peered through the crack as she opened it. She appeared slightly apologetic for interrupting his and Hunter’s private time. “May we come in?” she asked.

“‘We’?” Oliver echoed.

Walter’s head popped up, appearing above his mother’s. “Hello, Oliver.”

The archer was reluctant to agree, but he nodded and sat up, marking his page in the book and placing it down. Hunter shifted beside him so the dog was resting his head and one paw on Oliver’s thigh possessively, eyeing the other two humans annoyedly.

“We need to talk to you about something. This won’t take long,” Moira promised, entering and holding the door open for her husband. “I’m sorry we’re intruding.”

“It’s okay. I was just reading,” Oliver replied with a shrug.

Walter picked the book up, his eyes growing wide and concerned as he caught sight of the cover. “ _Lord of the Flies?_ Are… you certain you should be reading this, Oliver?”

He understood his stepfather’s worry. It was, after all, a book about a group of children being stranded on an island and essentially turning wild and feral on each other. “It’s fine, Walter, I promise. I’ve been trying to read books about castaways and shipwrecks as sort of an exposure therapy without proper exposure. I managed to get through _Robinson Crusoe_ without having a mental breakdown, so I think I’m okay.” Changing the subject, he asked, “What’s going on? What do you need to speak to me about?”

Moira didn’t look very pleased at his attempt at steering away from the troubling fact he was reading books that could trigger flashbacks. But she let it go, instead straightening and saying, “There’s a QC lunch event in support of HR’s Employee Mental Health Awareness campaign tomorrow. We were wondering if you would be able to attend?”

Oliver stiffened and exhaled guiltily. He would have liked to go, but… “I’m really sorry, but I already have plans. Felicity and I are taking Hunter out to the Gem Cities’ National Park all day tomorrow… she’s taken a day off work. I would come otherwise.” The archer narrowed his eyes suspiciously when Moira and Walter exchanged glances. “What? What is it?”

Stepping forwards, his mother perched on the end of the bed, reaching out a hand to allow Hunter to sniff it cautiously. Satisfied, the service dog pulled away from her and returned his head to its resting place in Oliver’s lap. “Sweetheart, I know you like this girl… but do you not think that your relationship is progressing rather quickly, considering you’ve only returned to Starling recently?”

“You were encouraging me the last date I went on with her.”

“Yes, because I didn’t understand quite how serious you are about her.”

A spark of irritation lit up in the archer. “You’re right, I do like Felicity, and I am serious about her,” he agreed. “She likes me back and is serious about me too. We care about each other and enjoy each other’s company… why shouldn’t we move forward to pursue a relationship? Why should it matter how _fast_ the moving forwards takes place?”

“Your mother is just worried about you, Oliver,” Walter tried to calm him. “And I am as well. You’re still re-adjusting to living in civilization. We just don’t want you to become overwhelmed.”

He narrowed his eyes, stroking slowly over Hunter’s back as he observed his mother and stepfather carefully. They didn’t want him becoming overwhelmed… they were concerned about his re-adjustment… it hit him. Moira and Walter were worried about his PTSD, anxiety, and depression. More specifically, they were worried about how Felicity would handle them. How she would treat him. Their concern about his and Felicity’s relationship moving forwards too quickly was due to the fact that they didn’t want him to get hurt if she rejected him because of his mental issues.

“I had a panic attack at Felicity’s apartment last week,” he told them.

Immediately, Moira’s eyes widened in shock and Walter’s head whipped towards him, his gaze full of unease. “What -”

“Felicity helped me,” he continued, as if he hadn’t even stopped talking. “She recognized what was happening and she knew what to do. She and Hunter worked together and calmed me down.” Glancing away, the archer raked his fingers delicately through the soft, long fur around the service dog’s scruff. “She saw my scars too. You know what she said? That they show how strong I am a person to have survived the island. Felicity called them badges of determination and defiance and she said that she admires me.”

His mother’s gaze was soft now, tears brimming but they were tears of _joy_ , not fear or sadness. “Oliver…”

“We kissed after that. Cuddled and watched another movie. She let me decide what I was ready for and only wanted me to be comfortable. I wanted to stay. Felicity made me feel _safe_.”

Seconds later, his mother was practically crushing him in a hug. The sudden physical contact made Oliver feel a little tense and confined, but he returned the embrace when Moira buried her head in his neck and released a small sob, of what had to be happiness. Sensing his master’s discomfort, Hunter caught Moira’s blouse between his teeth and tugged lightly, huffing at her pointedly. She released her son quickly when she realized that he was subtly trying to move away, hastily wiping her eyes. Walter helped her stand as she slid off the bed, rubbing her back comfortingly; his eyes were slightly shiny too, evidence that he too had been moved by the archer’s words.

“I’m sorry,” his mother said, still sniffling a little. “I should have asked permission before hugging you.”

“It’s okay,” he reassured her.

Fixing the archer with a raised eyebrow, Walter questioned, “You and Felicity are _very_ serious, aren’t you?”

“I’d like to think so,” Oliver answered. He paused, ducking his head before admitting shyly, “I think I might love her.” The expressions of shocked awe on their faces almost made the archer chuckle. “I suppose that constitutes ‘very serious’.”

“You love her?” Moira repeated quietly.

He remembered the distinct feelings of happiness and warmth when he’d hugged Felicity, the joyous thrill of kissing her and the surge of delight through his heart when he’d heard her laugh. “Yeah,” he said, his voice soft. “Yeah, I do.”

“You should invite her over for dinner,” Walter said with a beaming smile.

Moira hurried to agree, nodding as she added, “To introduce her to us properly. And to introduce us to her, of course.”

Remembering how Felicity had said she was a little intimidated by the idea of coming to his house, he answered warily, “I’ll ask her.”

Hunter barked, stretching his head out to snap his teeth around Oliver’s book and drag it back towards him. Moira and Walter seemed to take that as a hint to leave, his mother giving the archer another quick hug and Walter patting him gently on the shoulder before exiting the room, softly closing the bedroom door behind them. It had only been shut for several minutes and Oliver had only just found his marked page to begin reading again when there was another knock on the door.

This time, his visitor didn’t wait to be welcomed in. Diggle stepped inside the bedroom, kicking the door shut behind him gently. “Was that your mother and Walter I just saw come out of here?” he asked curiously, kneeling down so that Hunter could sniff his hands when the service dog jumped off the bed to greet him.

“Yeah,” Oliver muttered, fumbling with his copy of _Lord of the Flies_. It didn’t look as if he was going to be able to read any more of the book today, so he just cast it onto his bedside counter. 

His bodyguard quirked an eyebrow. “Asking about the QC Mental Health awareness lunch tomorrow?”

“Yeah. How’d you know?”

“They asked me to make sure you’d get there on time. I did tell them that you have plans but they didn’t listen to me.”

“They know I’m going out with Felicity,” the archer sighed.

“How’d they take it?”

“Pretty well, actually,” he admitted, running a hand through his hair. “I told them that Felicity and I are serious… that I think I love her. They want me to invite her around for dinner.” Diggle looked impressed. Scooting to the end of the bed and scratching under Hunter’s chin, Oliver shook his head, changing the subject. “What’s going on? Do we need to talk about something?” He didn’t exactly want to flat out ask why Diggle was here and interrupting his afternoon, because that would be rude.

“Oh, I just wanted to ask when you were planning on heading to the Foundry this evening. Was wondering if you’d like to get a few sparring rounds in before Hooding up tonight.”

“Felicity’s coming around and we’ll be heading out to the National Park early tomorrow morning, so I thought I’d stay in and try to get a reasonable night’s sleep,” Oliver shrugged. “We can go out to the gardens and have a quick sparring session now, though. I’m always up for a little friendly competition.”

He slid off the bed and began searching through his wardrobe for a casual hoodie to wear on top of his t-shirt while he talked, as he knew it was a little windy outside. Hunter trotted off to fetch a pair of socks and a worn pair of running shoes for him while he pulled the hoodie on. It was only once Oliver was seated and yanking his socks on that he realized that Diggle had fallen silent, not responding back with a sarcastic or teasing comment about competition against the archer never being friendly, like Oliver would have expected from him. Instead, the bodyguard was observing him silently, his arms crossed tightly over his chest and his brow furrowed deeply.

“What?” Oliver asked warily. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Diggle shrugged. “I’m just surprised.”

“Why? By what?”

“By you. Wanting to stay home for the night and sleep so you can get up early for a day out with your girlfriend, instead of running around in green leather, shooting criminals and saving the city. And this isn’t the first time, either - you’ve frequently been starting to choose spending time with your new girlfriend over vigilante duties. I didn’t think anything or anyone would be able to distract you from putting on that hood. But I guess I didn’t anticipate Felicity coming into your life.”

Oliver blinked, swallowing as he frowned down at the floor and considered what Diggle had said. His bodyguard was right - with everything going on between him and Felicity, with all their dates and arranging more of them, Oliver’s focus on his crusade had waned. He was alarmed to realize that since his first date with Felicity, he’d actually more than halved his time out on the streets. Felicity hadn’t exactly distracted him from his Hood duties; the archer had just stopped wanting and needing to go out as much. He was confused. He didn’t know what or how to feel about the fact that he now considered spending time with Felicity more important than fulfilling his mission to save the city. Oliver had returned to Starling City solely so he could target the criminal elite, wipe out the corruption and make the city a safer and more stable place to live. It horrified him to think that he might be disrespecting Robert Queen’s dying wish, but he couldn’t imagine his life without Felicity in it anymore.

Sensing his master’s agitation, the service dog brushed up against Oliver’s legs and whined. The archer curled his fingers into Hunter’s soft fur, trying to simultaneously reassure the husky mix that he was okay while anchoring himself so he didn’t spiral into his thoughts any deeper.

Diggle seemed to realize that he’d thrown Oliver for a loop with his statement, because he took a hesitant step forward and offered quietly, “Hey, that’s not a _bad_ thing, man. Felicity’s good for you. You love her and that gives you something to fight for.” When his charge didn’t respond, Diggle cleared his throat and said, “Come on, let’s go outside and spar for a bit. Might help clear your head.”

Remaining troubled and deep in thought, the archer finishes lacing up his running shoes and stands. Oliver followed his bodyguard and exited his room, heading downstairs with Hunter at his heels. They found a remote area of the garden beyond the patio and pool, out of sight of the house just in case the rest of the Queen family peered outside in search of Oliver and his service dog. The training session actually helped relax the vigilante a lot. Diggle was a good opponent; he was skilled enough that Oliver had to concentrate to avoid getting clocked in the face.

With ten minutes, any concerns Oliver had were forgotten as he tried to hook his foot around the back of Diggle’s ankle and sweep him onto his knees. But at this point, the bodyguard remembered some of Oliver’s favorite moves and was able to counter them and put up a reasonable fight, continuing the playful little battle between them. Meanwhile, Hunter basked in a couple dappled rays of sunlight on top of a wall nearby, watching them lazily as he flicked his tail back and forth.

Once around an hour had passed and Diggle showed no signs of yielding any time soon, Oliver decided that he should bring their sparring match to a close. Within seconds, he had his bodyguard in a tight headlock, restricting his airway enough to weaken his movements but not choke him. Diggle scrambled to get free, clawing at Oliver’s hands with sharp fingernails. He twisted in the archer’s grip in such a way that showed that he’d escaped from plenty of headlocks before. This one, however, was not one that anybody could easily get out of, which Oliver knew from experience.

Diggle patted the archer’s arm, tapping out. He released him and stepped away. Whiskers twitching, the husky mix jumped down from his wall and rubbed up against his master’s legs, raising his muzzle to brush against Oliver’s hand.

“You’re gonna have to teach me how to do do that,” Diggle said, breathing heavily.

Oliver shrugged. “Maybe someday.” He checked the time. It was nearing five o’clock. “I need to shower before dinner at six.”

“I’ll have the car ready for seven tomorrow morning and I’ll show the guys at the front gate a picture of Felicity so they know to let her through.”

“Thanks. See you then.” He clapped his bodyguard on the shoulder gently.

The archer showered quickly, ruffling his hair dry with a towel when he emerged into his bedroom. Hunter sprawled out at the foot of the bed with a fresh pair of socks in his mouth, which he happily dropped at Oliver’s feet when he beckoned for the dog. Dinner with his family tonight was going to be casual and informal, so it was okay for him to wear some sweatpants and a t-shirt.

Noting he had another twenty minutes before he needed to be downstairs and in the dining room, Oliver found his thoughts straying back to Felicity. Pulling out his cell phone, he sat next to his service dog so he could stroke him while texting with one hand.

To: Felicity <3 - _Hey! Dig’s gonna have the car ready for us at 7 tmw. I get up really early so you can come over anytime before then xxx_

He added the kisses as an afterthought but couldn’t help but smile softly to himself as he sent the text off.

Felicity responded barely a minute later.

Re: From Felicity <3 - _Great, I’ll drive over to get there for 6:45. Don’t want to intrude on you and your family. You sure it’s ok if I leave my car parked in your driveway all day?_

To: Felicity <3 - _Don’t worry about intruding, Thea will have left for school by then and my mom and Walter will be working. You probs won’t even see them. Parking on our drive is fine._

Re: From Felicity <3 - _Thanks! I’m presuming I just need to bring a small bag with some water, snacks n stuff for the day?_

To: Felicity <3 - _Yeah that will be fine. I’ll be bringing my backpack so you can put stuff in that if you want. Hunter has a backpack as well._

Re: From Felicity <3 - _HUNTER HAS A BACKPACK?????_

To: Felicity <3 - _Haha yeah._

Re: From Felicity <3 - _THAT’S TOO CUTE ASKLJEJKXB_

To: Felicity <3 - _You’re too cute xxx See you tmw._

Re: From Felicity <3 - _Tomorrow xxx_

Tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough. He was already anxious to see her again, feeling like there was a constricting hand around his heart that wouldn’t release until he was holding her hand. Hunter plonked his head onto his master’s lap, whining. The archer gazed down at him with a lump in his throat.

He jolted when he heard Thea shouting his name from downstairs. She must have arrived home from school while Oliver and Diggle had been sparring. He grabbed another hoodie to wear as the one he’d worn earlier was damp with sweat, and yanked it on as he left his room and descended the staircase, Hunter trailing along behind him.

His little sister was waiting at the bottom for him, changed into a set of purple plaid pajamas. “What’s this I’m hearing about you and Felicity being in a serious relationship?” she demanded.

Oliver rolled his eyes. “Mom and Walter told you?”

“Ollie, come on!” She linked arms with him as they walked to the dining room together. The service dog bumped into both of their legs, wanting to be close to both of them. “You’re killing me here! When do I get to meet the girl who’s stolen my brother’s heart?”

“You’re jumping aboard the ‘invite Felicity around for a family dinner’ bandwagon then, I assume?”

Thea lit up. “You’re inviting Felicity here for dinner?”

Oliver shook his head in both amusement and exasperation and strode ahead of her.

“Wait! Oliver, wait! I need to know! Is she coming for dinner or not!?”

* * *

The archer was sitting on the steps of the Queen mansion’s porch, waiting for both Felicity and Diggle to arrive. It was approaching seven in the morning and the sun had risen only half an hour ago, the sky still reasonably dark but with streaks of tangerine, pink and crimson close to the horizon. Oliver pulled his black pea-coat tighter around him as the crisp breeze washed over him. He was wearing jeans and a thick Henley underneath the coat so hopefully he wouldn’t get cold, but he hoped Felicity had dressed appropriately for the cold weather.

Hunter barked from the front door, growling to attract his master’s attention. Oliver glanced back and grinned as the service dog dragged the archer’s small backpack towards him and then dumped it in his lap. The husky mix was wearing his own red and grey harness dog backpack with a collapsible bowl, two bottles of water, waste bags and a packet of kibble treats inside. He was only carrying his own stuff for the day so they weren’t using him as a mule at all. The dog seemed to actually enjoy wearing the backpack, turning his head to sniff at it curiously every so often.

“You’re off duty all day, bud,” Oliver told him, ruffling his fur as Hunter settled down beside him. Twitching an ear to acknowledge the command, the service dog swiveled his head to lick Oliver’s cheek in thanks before glancing back down the drive impatiently. “You waiting for our favorite person as well?” Hunter huffed. “She’ll be here soon.”

When Felicity’s Mini appeared through the trees, cruising up the driveway, the husky mix immediately leaped to his paws, tail wagging fiercely. Oliver could tell that Hunter was resisting the urge to howl in excitement. Once the car was parked, Oliver gave permission for the dog to go and greet Felicity, and Hunter rushed towards his master’s girlfriend.

“Oh, hey, honey,” Felicity greeted the dog cheerfully, closing and locking up her car before kneeling down and hugging him. Hunter preened under her attentiveness. “Nice to see you again too! Look at that adorable backpack, oh my god! You look so handsome, don’t you? Such a handsome boy!”

“Only been your boyfriend for four days and my dog is already upstaging me,” Oliver called teasingly.

Straightening up with a light chuckle, Felicity proceeded towards the archer with Hunter tagging along behind her, grumbling that she’d stopped petting him. The IT girl was dressed in a pair of dark slim-fit jeans and a black tunic cardigan that had some maroon and green detailing on the arms. She’d wrapped a grey scarf around her neck and tied her hair back in a messy bun. Reaching Oliver, she dropped her small carrysack to the ground and leaned up onto her tiptoes to press her lips gently to his. Eyes fluttering shut, the archer savored the brief kiss and sighed quietly in bliss when they broke apart.

“Hi,” he said, smiling.

“Hi,” she murmured. “Don’t worry… you have _all_ of my attention right now.”

“This going to be a regular thing?” he asked. “You kissing me when we meet up with each other from now on?”

“Well, we _are_ boyfriend and girlfriend, aren’t we?” She quirked an eyebrow. “Are you protesting?”

“Not at all.” He bent down to kiss her again.

Hunter whimpered, batting at Oliver’s foot with one paw. He flashed big, sad blue eyes up at the two of them, wanting in on the affection. Both of them laughed and crouched to stroke him. Usually, when the service dog was working, he wasn’t allowed to be pampered or spoiled like this; since Hunter was off duty all day, he could be fussed over as much as he wanted.

“Haven’t forgotten about you. You get a kiss as well.” Felicity plastered one on the top of Hunter’s muzzle, chuckling when his whiskers tickled her cheeks.

The two of them glanced up when they heard a revving engine, and a silver Range Rover drove out from around the back of the garage. Diggle hopped out of it, shrugging his black leather jacket on as he came to greet them.

“Good morning, Mr Queen, Miss Smoak.” Hunter flattened his ears to his head. “And good morning to you as well, Hunter.”

Oliver reached out to pick up Felicity’s bag from the steps and threw it over his shoulder with his own pack. “‘Morning, Dig. Ready to go?”

“You bet. Your mother is staring out the window at us, by the way.”

The archer whipped around with narrowed eyes and ran a hand over his face in frustration when he barely caught sight of Moira ducking behind a curtain, out of sight so she couldn’t be seen watching them. She’d probably been watching Oliver and Felicity interact ever since the blonde had arrived.

“Does she know about us?” Felicity asked. She was craning her neck, trying to catch a glimpse of Oliver’s nosy mother.

“I told her and Walter that we’re serious,” he admitted. “I hope that’s okay.”

“That’s fine!” she reassured, grasping his hand and squeezing it gently. “I don’t want you to have to keep me or our relationship a secret from your family.”

He was already keeping enough secrets from them. Like the fact that he dressed up in green leather and parkoured around the city shooting criminals at night. “You’ll probably be regretting those words once they’re insisting you come over for dinner every week. Which has already started, by the way. As soon as I told them about our relationship, Walter immediately suggested I bring you over to meet them.”

“Walter’s nice! Your mother… is a bit intimidating.”

“Wait until you meet Thea,” Oliver said under his breath. “Diggle, we should get going if we want to make good travel time.”

They slung their backpacks up into the trunk of the large four-by-four and Hunter jumped in to curl up in between them, resting his head atop Felicity’s. Once the service dog seemed comfortable, they shut up the trunk and clambered into the vehicle, Diggle into the driver’s seat while Oliver and Felicity settled in together in the back. The journey to the Gem Cities’ National Park wasn’t a particularly long one, only two hours long. They made a couple of stops so Hunter could stretch his legs and relieve himself, but other than that, they drove straight there. Oliver and Felicity cuddled up to each other and talked for those two hours, laughing and holding each other’s hands as they conversed. The archer was reminded of why he enjoyed spending time with the blonde so much - Felicity was just so easy to speak to that he couldn’t help but feel relaxed and happy around her.

The parking lot had just been opened up to the public when they arrived at the gates, and only a couple of vehicles were queuing, so they managed to get straight in. As soon as they popped the trunk open, Hunter bounded out, wiggling with anticipation. They had to briefly clip the husky mix onto a leash until they reached the zone in the park where dogs could roam freely, but Hunter didn’t seem to mind.

The National Park was at quite a high altitude due to its location in a mountainous forest, so the chilly breeze was biting. The woods broke it up so it wasn’t so harsh, but Oliver was still grateful that he’d decided to wear a thick coat. Being so cold and surrounded by trees caused memories of the tough times on Lian Yu to well up to the surface. Luckily, Felicity looped her arm through his and pressed her side into him, keeping the archer grounded to the present.

They picked a dog-friendly trail that was a loop of the forest and a small lake at the bottom of the valley, and set off on the walk. Oliver and Felicity walked ahead, watching in amusement as Hunter sprinted up and down the path, sniffing and snuffling at everything in his path. Diggle hung behind slightly, following from a distance as any normal bodyguard would. He even declined Oliver’s suggestion that he come up and walk beside them when the archer felt a bit guilty about the man having to follow him while he was on a date; Diggle said that today was for the pair of them to enjoy together and he was just doing his job.

“I think Hunter’s stalking a squirrel,” Felicity observed, smiling at the service dog, who was crouched around ten feet away at the edge of the path. He was staring intensely out into the vegetation.

“He does that,” Oliver said. “He’s never actually caught anything he’s chased before though.”

Felicity looked surprised at that. “He hasn’t?”

“I reckon that’s because he doesn’t really want to catch it,” he replied. “I’ve heard stories of when Hunter was working as a military dog, about how he managed to take down a fox that was stealing rations from camp.”

“Foxes are pretty vicious.”

“Hunter can be fierce when he wants to be. You know Tommy Merlyn?”

“Your best friend, Tommy Merlyn, yes,” she nodded.

“Hunter _hates_ Tommy’s dad. Not entirely sure why. He snarled at him the first time they met, and has continued to growl at him ever since. You don’t want to get on Hunter’s bad side.”

Felicity cuddled closer to him. “Kind of glad I haven’t yet.”

The service dog darted off into the bushes suddenly, but emerged from the foliage a moment later, fur ruffled with an expression of disappointment. The look on Hunter’s face made the blonde giggle, and she offered him a scratch behind the ears to console him. He accepted her scratches joyfully before running off again to find another small animal to stalk. As Oliver watched his girlfriend pet Hunter fondly, he saw her shiver slightly, adjusting her scarf against the bitterly cold wind.

“You’re cold?” he asked.

She flicked a stray lock of hair behind her air. “It’s not too bad.”

“Here.” Oliver shrugged off his peacoat and offered it to her, draping it carefully over her shoulders.

Shaking her head, Felicity protested, “No, I can’t. Then _you’ll_ be cold!”

“Half a decade on an island in the North China Sea, remember? I don’t really get cold anymore.”

“You’re essentially admitting to me that the cold reminds you of the worst five years of your life and you think that will convince me to take your coat?” Shrugging the garment off, she held it back out to him with a stern look. “Put it back on, mister. Like I said, it’s not too bad and I’m fine. I want you to be as well.”

The determined expression on Felicity’s face told Oliver that she wasn’t going to back down, so he pulled his peacoat back on with a roll of his eyes and a smile. As soon as he’d done the buttons up, he pulled the blonde in close and wrapped an arm around her back. Kissing her on the forehead, he embraced her quickly before releasing her and beginning to walk again, so they were strolling casually down the trail path.

“So, Miss Smoak,” Oliver started, his tone teasingly formal. “Apart from dates involving coffee, Harry Potter, wine and walks with my service dog, what would you like us to do together in the future? I don’t want to be one of those boyfriends that insists on only doing things I find entertaining. So far all of our dates have really been centered around making things comfortable for Hunter and me, and I’d like do something for you next time. What activities do you enjoy?”

“I enjoy spending time with you, no matter what we’re doing.”

He sighed. “Felicity…”

She blushed. “Okay, alright! Um… well, I like being wined and dined like most women do. I find museums really interesting. Oh, the Starling Science and Space Museum is awesome! They have a couple of new interactive exhibits there that I haven’t visited yet. I like going there so I can point out all the inaccuracies - they keep trying to dumb down the science for the kids but they just get it wrong.”

Oliver laughed softly. He could very effortlessly imagine Felicity enthusiastically interrupting a museum education tour to correct the guide on what information he was teaching the children.

“I’m also a major bad-ass at laser tag.”

“Laser tag?” The archer stopped walking, staring at her incredulously.

Felicity jerked her head in a nod, completely serious. “Yep. I’ve got mad laser tag skills.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope. I’ve never lost a game of laser tag and I never plan to. I used to be in a league when I was studying at MIT. Feel free to challenge me, but you’ll have to be prepared for when I completely destroy you. I could annihilate Diggle as well.”

Oliver could barely stifle his snicker. He had much better aim than Felicity thought he probably did. Years of archery and training with various firearms meant that he could most likely win against her at a simple game of laser tag, or at least put up a good fight.

“Although, would you be okay with laser tag? I mean - you know, would it trigger you? I don’t want to - you know, but it can get loud and there’s shouting and -” She waved her arms around, struggling to get her words out.

The archer could understand what she was trying to say. “I don’t know,” he mused. “I’d be willing to give it a go.” He turned his head, glancing back at Diggle. “Hey, Dig, you up for a round of laser tag sometime soon? Felicity thinks she can beat us both.”

The bodyguard raised an eyebrow at them both. “And who’s the one with special forces training and experience here?”

Out of nowhere, gunfire sounded. Four shots, echoing through the forest, but almost as loud as if they’d been a few minutes away from them. Oliver’s instincts instantly overwhelmed his mind, panic and alarm sweeping over him. He tackled Felicity to ground with a shouted, “GET DOWN!” and covered her with his body, protecting her from any other shots that might come. Hunter flashed to his side, growling ferociously, and Diggle stood over them, swinging his gun back and forth wildly as the two of them peered around for danger.

Oliver remained frozen, poised over Felicity’s form. He was concentrating on his surroundings, his muscles tensed so he was ready to leap up and fight at a second’s notice. He didn’t even notice his girlfriend squirming beneath him, firmly placing her hands over his chest and shoulders. She was speaking to him, but he couldn’t hear what she was saying. He was fixed solely on searching for danger. Hunter snarled, but this time it was at the archer. Oliver stared at his service dog in a daze, confused at why the husky mix was being aggressive towards him. Latching his teeth loosely around his wrist, the dog tried to tug him off Felicity.

“All clear,” Diggle’s voice broke through the haze from above them. “It was probably a park ranger or some hunter outside the perimeter. Oliver, I think it would be best if you got off Felicity now. You’re sort of crushing her, man.”

Oliver blinked up at him, bewildered.

“Oliver.” His head swiveled back towards Felicity. He could finally focus on her. She was lying beneath him, gripping his biceps with both of her hands, and she was gazing solemnly into his eyes, forcing the archer to make eye contact with her. “Nobody is shooting at us. It’s okay.”

But… it wasn’t. Was it? The gunshots… wait, where was he again?

His service dog whined at him. He was pushed off Felicity despite his objections and now, the blonde was on top of Oliver. Sitting on top of his waist, keeping him secure. The weight was actually comforting, made him feel safe. Hunter crawled on top of the archer’s chest, licking all over his face and neck. The coarse, hot wetness of the dog’s tongue made Oliver splutter, pushing Hunter’s muzzle away when he licked over his master’s mouth.

“You’re safe,” Diggle was saying. “No hostiles in sight.”

“Yep, we’re okay, Oliver,” Felicity confirmed.

When his instincts finally settled and Oliver came back into full control of his mind and body, he breathed shallowly, the adrenalin in his system setting his veins on fire. The sound of the gunshots combined with the forest surroundings had triggered a deep primal fear in him that he hadn’t properly experienced since the island. Now, that fear was gone, due to knowing there was no danger. He was with Felicity, Diggle, and Hunter, and they were safe. The memory of what had happened to result in him being on the ground was blurry, like he was looking at it through an unfocused telescope.

Felicity tilted her head sideways. “You back with us?”

Oliver nodded, rubbing at his eyes. His hands fell back down to his sides and landed on Felicity’s hips, holding her gently. She was still sitting on top of him, gazing down worriedly, just like how she’d looked at him when he’d had a panic attack back at her apartment a couple of days ago. This, however, was not a panic attack. It was closer to a PTSD episode. Hunter was antsy, whimpering softly as he nudged at Oliver’s collarbone, trying to soothe him. Yes, judging by his service dog’s reaction, definitely something to do with his PTSD.

“It was the gunshots, wasn’t it?” Felicity questioned sympathetically. “Yeah… maybe laser tag isn’t the best idea for a date.” She vaulted off his waist, kneeling next to him. “Come on, let’s get you up and standing again.”

She and Diggle helped Oliver to his feet, and Felicity caught and steadied him when he swayed, head still fuzzy. Hunter obediently sat in front of the three of them; he was back on duty even though he hadn’t been ordered.

“Let’s find somewhere to sit down,” the bodyguard said. “You look like you’re about to pass out, Oliver.”

“There was a bench back there,” Felicity motioned behind them.

“I don’t know if I can walk,” the archer managed. His legs couldn’t hold his weight without buckling and he was trembling all over. Episodes always left him exhausted. This was worse than the panic attack he’d had at Felicity’s apartment.

“It’s shock. It will wear off soon,” Felicity assured. “If you feel like you’re going to throw up, please let us know.”

“Can’t believe this happened on one of our dates _again_ ,” he whispered, turning his face into her neck with an embarrassed groan.

Felicity framed his face with her hands, telling him sincerely, “Hey, when I accepted being your girlfriend, I accepted you - all of you. That includes any mental issues you have. Remember what I said? I understand and it’s not your fault.”

The three of them and Hunter backtracked along the trail slowly, supporting Oliver the whole way, until they found the bench Felicity had seen before. Once the archer was sitting solidly with the blonde seated beside him, holding his hand, he began to calm down some more. The service dog propped his head on Oliver’s knees so that his master could stroke over his head, his tail curled around Felicity’s ankle. Diggle walked off to give them some space and ended up having a discussion with a park ranger who appeared. From what the archer could hear, they’d fired a few warning shots at a black bear who was a little too curious about a set of public toilets, further up their trail. Apparently, it was a bear they’d seen around the area before that had attacked a ranger last month. They were advising anybody along the trail to turn and head back towards the parking lot.

As he absentmindedly listened to Diggle and the ranger talk, Oliver found himself turning his attention towards Felicity. His bodyguard was right about Felicity distracting the archer from his Hood duties… but Felicity also distracted Oliver from his mental health issues. And that was a _very good thing_. Felicity made him feel normal. She cared about his mental problems, but only because she cared about him as a person. Working as the vigilante often heightened his PTSD and anxiety, allowing him to confront it - it was a strange kind of therapy where he was forced to deal with his issues head-on.

By spending more time with Felicity, and less time out on the streets, he was starting to develop a new kind of therapy. Not therapy which involved a forced confrontation of his mental health issues… a therapy where he was taught and encouraged to _accept_ them. He’d accepted that he had depression, anxiety, and PTSD, he’d accepted that he needed Hunter to help him with his issues and he’d accepted that he would be affected for the rest of his life… but he’d never learned to accept that his issues, while affecting him, were a _part of him_. By coming to terms with his own personal identity with Felicity’s help, he was coming to terms with his mental state.

“Hey… Oliver? Earth to Oliver.”

Jolted out of his deep thought process, the archer glanced over at Felicity, smiling at her weakly. She had snapped her fingers in front of his face, obviously seeing how spaced out he was. Sometime while he’d been lost in his mind, Hunter had jumped up onto the bench next to him and was now sprawled across both of their laps, nibbling at the sleeve of Oliver’s coat.

“Hi. Sorry,” he shook his head. “Did you say something?”

“Just wanted to check you’re okay,” she nudged him lightly in the side with her elbow. “And I asked if you’d like to come back to mine after this, but I guess you didn’t hear me.”

“They’re asking everybody to leave until they can pinpoint the location of the black bear and move it safely out of the area,” Diggle informed them, striding back over. “But we’re at least a ninety-minute walk from the parking lot. The ranger says there’s a couple of eco-educational buildings and cabins by the lake about fifteen minutes down the trail. There’s a cafe there we can wait out in.”

Oliver checked his watch. It was nearing midday. “Go there for lunch, walk back to the car once we’re allowed to and then go to your place?” he suggested to Felicity.

She beamed. “Sounds good.”

Hunter barked in agreement, cocking his ears.

“I might still need you to help me walk,” Oliver confessed. “My legs aren’t really cooperating.”

The ranger escorted the four of them down to the lake cafe, offering them vouchers for free drinks to their surprise. They ordered a couple of sandwiches and while they waited for them, Oliver unclipped Hunter’s harness backpack and pulled out the collapsible bowl and his dog treats, passing a few of them over to Felicity so she could feed the dog them as he filled the bowl with water. Hunter lay down next to the blonde and half underneath Oliver’s chair while they ate their lunch, cheerfully eating up a couple of crust pieces the three of them dropped. The archer pretended not to see Diggle deliberately pulling out a piece of bacon from his BLT sandwich and sneaking it to the service dog. A little bit of bacon wouldn’t hurt him.

“I’m going to have to meet your friends soon, aren’t I?” Felicity questioned, munching on a chip from their shared packet. “Tommy Merlyn and Laurel Lance? Do they know you have a girlfriend yet?”

 

“Thea would have told them, no doubt,” Oliver answered. “Both of them will be delighted, although they might ask you a billion questions. You’ll meet them eventually. I don’t want you to feel forced to.”

Felicity shrugged. “They’re your friends. I want to meet them. Undoubtedly they’ll want to meet me. When we have that family dinner with your mom, Walter, and Thea, why don’t you invite them over then? That way I can meet all of them at once. All the stress is contained in a single evening.”

“That is an excellent idea,” Diggle pointed to her. “Listen to your girlfriend, Oliver.”

It did sound like something that would work well. “I’ll get Mom and Walter to arrange it then. Are you certain you’re alright with coming over for dinner? You don’t think it’s too soon?”

“I don’t know about you, but I’m in this relationship for the long haul,” she winked at him. “I don’t mind having dinner with your family and friends, Oliver. I would invite you to dinner with my family and friends if I had any family in the city - or any friends.”

“You have friends,” he frowned.

“I have work colleagues and associates,” Felicity corrected. “And now you, Diggle and Hunter.” She glanced over at Diggle with an amused smirk. “Sorry, but if you’re a non-negotiable part of Oliver’s boyfriend contract as his bodyguard, then you have no choice but to be my friend.”

“You won’t hear me complaining,” Diggle replied, stealing some rocket from Oliver’s side salad.

They were given the all clear to head back onto the trail after that, and after paying for lunch (splitting the bill on Felicity’s insistence, and they both refused to allow Diggle to pay since he wasn’t really here by choice), they returned to the path. Oliver ordered his service dog off duty, and Hunter was content to chase after squirrels again. The lake was beautiful, and they took their time walking the trail circling it, just enjoying the tranquility and stunning wild scenery around them. Today was about enjoying each other’s company, not hurrying about.

It was mid-afternoon by the time they got back to the car. Hunter almost immediately curled up for a nap after climbing into the trunk, and the journey time back to Starling City seemed infinitesimal when Oliver and Felicity were in deep discussion about ideas for future dates. They agreed they would go to the Science Museum at some point and maybe the beach as well, since Hunter had never been before to their knowledge. They also made plans for a couple of movie nights, since Oliver still needed to catch up after five years of no pop culture.

Diggle pulled the car up to the sidewalk opposite Felicity’s apartment building. “Here we are. I’ll come pick you up around six, Oliver.”

“Thanks, Dig,” the archer said gratefully.

“Yes, thank you!” Felicity piped up, releasing the trunk latch so she could grab their bags and let Hunter out. The service dog patiently waited for her to clip on his leash before trotting over to Oliver, to stand by his heels. “We had a great time!”

The archer twisted his hands together nervously. “Um… I know it probably goes without saying, but please don’t -”

“ - mention what happened with the gunshots to your mother?” Diggle cut in. “Don’t worry, I won’t. And if she asks if anything happened, I’ll just tell her that Felicity had it handled.”

“Thanks,” he exhaled.

They spent the rest of the afternoon holed up in Felicity’s apartment watching a few more of the Harry Potter movies and drinking hot cocoa. Oliver curled up on the couch under Felicity’s urging and pillowed his head in her lap. He very nearly fell asleep due to the blonde threading her fingers through his hair tenderly, gently massaging the back of his neck while they watched _Goblet of Fire_. Hunter made a small bed out of throw blankets at the bottom of the couch that he fell asleep in, tired out by his exuberant running around the National Park earlier, but he turned every so often to rest of head on top of Felicity’s feet.

At some point, he just stopped watching the movie and decided to watch Felicity instead. She was beautiful. He was so lucky. He didn’t deserve her, not by a long shot, but somehow, he had her. And she had him.

Felicity suddenly lunged forward to grab the remote and stop the DVD from playing. “I’m so sorry,” she rushed out, looking concerned and panicked. “I didn’t think about the lake scene - or the drowning, or - or -”

Oliver glanced back towards the screen, confused. It was frozen on a scene where the main character was in a dark, underwater setting, being dragged down by what looked like grotesque mermaids as he struggled for breath. He realized instantly what she was so alarmed about. She thought that this scene would remind him of the capsizing of the Queen’s Gambit.

He raised his arm to stroke a thumb over her cheek, reassuring her quietly, “Felicity, it’s okay. I wasn’t even looking at the TV, to be honest. It didn’t upset me.”

She looked relieved. “Good… what were you looking at then?”

He could feel his cheeks turning red. “You,” he admitted.

Her brow furrowed adorably. “How come?”

 _Because I think I love you, Felicity Smoak._ God, it would be so easy to just come out and say it. Oliver knew it was true and wanted Felicity to know how he truly felt about her. But it was too early. They’d only been properly together for four days. Even if Felicity did feel the same way as him and was prepared for their relationship to last, he didn’t want to tell her that he was in love with her and freak her out or something. No, confessions of love would have to wait.

“I want to kiss you,” he said, instead.

“Then why don’t you? We’re together, I’m your girlfriend… that means you can kiss me if you want.”

Oliver immediately sat up and kissed her. Felicity’s hand remained buried in his hair and tightened as he flicked his tongue over her lips. He heard Hunter give an exasperated huff from the floor. “If I kissed you whenever I wanted to,” he whispered, when they pulled apart. “Then you would never be able to breathe.”

“God, you can’t say things like that,” the blonde whined, dropping her head onto his shoulder.

“Why not?”

“It’s not fair,” she mumbled into his shirt. “It just makes me wanna kiss you more.”

Oliver’s cell phone buzzed from his coat pocket. And continued buzzing. It wasn’t a call, but it was multiple text messages. Both he and Felicity groaned in irritation at having to move from their positions, but Hunter saved the day, jumping up from his blanket nest to fetch the phone, although he did leave Oliver’s coat in a messy pile on the floor. After passing the phone to his master, Hunter squeezed onto the end of the couch next to him. Shifting on the cushions to give the service dog more space, the archer checked the messages he had just received.

From: Thea - _OLIVERRRRRRRRR_  
From: Thea - _WHERE ARE YOU_  
From: Thea - _ARE YOU STILL WITH FELICITY_  
From: Thea - _HOWS YOUR DATE GOING_  
From: Thea - _GIVE ME SOMETHING BRO IM DYIN HERE_

“It’s my sister,” he told Felicity with a sigh. “She wants to know how our date is going.”

The blonde snuggled into his side. “Tell her. Better yet, why don’t you send her a picture of us together? She’d love that.”

That was a good idea. Oliver scooted closer to his girlfriend and wrapped one arm around her, lovingly kissing her on the cheek. At the same time, he used his other hand to snap a photo of them both on his phone. Glancing down at it to check it wasn’t blurred, Oliver felt his heart swell, devoted warmth spreading through him. Felicity had her eyes closed and was smiling contently, leaning towards where his lips were making contact with her cheek. Hunter had popped his head onto Oliver’s shoulder, just within the frame. It was unbearably cute.

He sent it off to Thea with the caption ‘ _At Felicity’s, we’re cuddling and watching HP movies_ ’.

Barely a second later, he got a response.

From: Thea - _AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH_

“She’s happy,” he translated, tucking his cell phone away.

“Are you happy?” Felicity murmured, pushing him down with a gentle hand so that his head was in her lap again and she was running her fingers through his hair. 

Oliver beckoned Hunter to crawl on top of him, so the husky mix had his head propped on his paws on top of the archer’s chest. He had his service dog and his girlfriend with him. He was relaxed and calm and satisfied. There was nowhere else he’d rather be right now.

“Yeah, I’m happy,” he hummed. “Are you?”

She grinned. “Yeah, more than ever.”

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed xxx
> 
> Tumblr: @alexiablackbriar13  
> Twitter: @lexiblackbriar


	4. a (emotional) day at queen mansion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and here we are, the last chapter of 'a series of dates'! thank you all so much for being so supportive and patient with me as i've been writing and posting this fic, and i really hope you've enjoyed oliver, felicity and hunter's journey together as much as i have.
> 
> thank you to sam (@ghostfoxlovely) for being such a wonderful beta and cheerleader, i definitely wouldn't have managed to finish this fic without you.
> 
> as with the end of all my fics, i would really appreciate it if you could take the time to comment and tell me what you overall thought of it! i'd love to hear some of your suggestions for what adventures oliver, felicity and hunter could go on in the future as well xx
> 
> hope you enjoy reading!
> 
> 4/10/18 - minor edits made to all chapters

A deep rumble vibrating through his chest triggered Oliver to awaken, blinking groggily and rubbing a barely coordinating hand over his face. The last dredges of sleep still hung over the archer, making him feel dazed and tired as he peered down at his service dog, the source of the purr-like growl that dragged him from his slumber. Hunter was lying on top of his master, tilting his head as his wagging tail brushed over Oliver’s shins like a feather duster.

“Good morning,” Oliver murmured, stroking over the husky mix’s ears.

Hunter snuffled up against his face with a happy greeting noise. The archer chuckled huskily, shoving the service dog off of him so he could sit up. His body and senses were still slow to respond due to his drowsiness, so it took Oliver a moment to register the time on his bedside clock. He swallowed in shock when he saw that it was past ten in the morning. He’d slept in late - very late, considering how he usually woke up at dawn, several hours earlier. To be fair to himself, though, Oliver had worked as the Hood last night until 3am, before he’d been forced to stop due to exhaustion.

“Come on.” Oliver slid off the bed, grabbing a t-shirt and hoodie to pull on. He needed to take Hunter outside so he could relieve himself; the poor dog was already scratching and whining at his bedroom door, wanting to be let out. “Let’s go, bud.”

Swiping his cell phone from the counter, the archer pocketed it before exiting his bedroom and heading downstairs. Hunter ran ahead of him, rushing straight for the kitchen and its back door that lead out to the gardens. Oliver couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty at how desperate Hunter was to get outside when he unlocked the door. After the service dog had finished his business and Oliver had cleaned up after him, they returned inside so that the archer could fix up breakfast for them both.

It was a Friday, so his mother and Walter had left for Queen Consolidated a couple of hours ago, and Thea was at school. The staff members of the house were probably working in the different wings doing their various, normal duties, which meant that Oliver was alone with Hunter for now.

He set down a bowl of kibble mixed with a chicken and gravy packet, patting the dog on the back when Hunter nuzzled him in thanks and began eating. “There we go. You’re hungry, huh?” Settling into a chair at the table with an apple and energy bar in hand, Oliver fished out his cell phone to begin checking his messages while he ate. There were a couple of texts to flick through.

From: John Diggle - _Hey. I don’t know if you’ll remember since you were practically passed out when I dropped you home last night after Work, but you gave me the morning off. I trust Hunter will be able to protect you. I’ll meet you at the house around 1ish. Let me know if you want to spar._

From: Felicity <3 - _Good morning my love xxx Looking forward to tonight. Have to ask, is there anything specific I should wear??? Are we gonna color coordinate??? Are we even gonna be one of those couples who do that??? (I might be a little nervous sorry) See you then! xxx_

From: Walter Steele - _Oliver. You were asleep this morning when Moira and I left and we decided it would be best not to wake you up, especially as Hunter did not want us to disturb you. We just wanted to remind you about dinner tonight. I left the box of Hunter’s ties on the coffee table in the living room so you can choose one. Your mother and I will be home with Thea at 5 so that we can all prepare for our guests to arrive at 6pm tonight, for our dinner together at 7. I hope you have a pleasant day. W._

The archer had forgotten that the dinner at which he’d be introducing Felicity as his girlfriend to his family and friends was tonight, which was why he was so suddenly struck with panic. He thought they’d have a couple more days to prepare. Felicity might be confident that this dinner would go well, but Oliver was not. It was almost impossible for him to be optimistic; he could only think about ways this evening could go wrong. What would happen if his family met Felicity and decided they didn’t like her? What if Laurel and Tommy didn’t approve of his girlfriend and wanted him to break up with her?

Hunter, sensing his master’s rising agitation, whined and abandoned his breakfast to scratch at Oliver’s foot worriedly. He could obviously sense an anxiety attack approaching. But to be honest, it was already too late. Oliver’s breath was hitching in his throat, his chest was tightening and his lungs felt weighed down with lead. His head spinning, Oliver tried to stand so he could make it to the living room, where he could lie down on one of the couches and wait for his episode to fade, but he was too dizzy. Hunter managed to help him to the wall just in time so that when the archer’s legs gave out beneath him, he could slide down it and sit on the floor.

“Sorry,” Oliver gasped, slipping his hands into the service dog’s fur and grasping handfuls of it. Hunter settled on top of his legs and licked at his face and neck to ground him, trying to offer some comfort, but it didn’t seem to be working as well as it usually did. “Sorry, bud, I’m not - this isn’t really -” He was forced to cut himself off because he was wheezing, struggling for breath. Black spots danced in his vision, signifying to Oliver that he was close to passing out.

Hunter’s warm weight vanished from on top of his legs and Oliver watched dazedly as the dog jumped up onto the kitchen table - before rushing back to the archer and dropping his cell phone in his lap. Picking it up with trembling hands, Oliver shot the husky mix a questioning look. Hunter just whimpered and batted at the phone with his paw, urging him to do something with it.

Somehow, Oliver knew instantly what Hunter wanted him to do. The service dog wanted his master to call Felicity. He found her name in the contacts list as quickly as he could with his shaking fingers and pressed call.

Felicity picked up a few seconds later. “ _Hi, Oliver!_ ” she greeted him cheerfully. “ _I texted you this morning about the dinner tonight, did you get it? How are you?_ ”

Her voice washed over him like a soothing balm and the boulder in his chest shifted ever so slightly so it was a little easier for Oliver to breathe, but the anxiety attack was still overwhelming his body. “Felicity…” he whispered, his voice a croak.

“ _Oliver? Are you okay?”_

“I’m - I - I can’t -”

Felicity’s happy tone transformed into one of seriousness. “ _You’re having a panic attack, aren’t you? Okay… Is Hunter with you?_ ”

“Yes,” he choked out.

“ _Alright, is Hunter helping you calm down? Is there anything I can do to help?_ ”

He glanced down at the husky mix, who had his head on Oliver’s lap and was staring up at him with big, sad blue eyes. “Not - not really working,” he rasped. “Can you -” Swallowing, he pushed away the guilt and shame at what he was having to ask for, considering he thought he would just be a nuisance to Felicity, and questioned, “Can you come?”

She didn’t even hesitate in responding, “ _Of course. I’m leaving work now. I’m going to check in with my supervisor and say I’ve got a family emergency, which is not exactly lying. I have to stop at home to grab a bag with clothes for tonight, but then I’m going to drive straight over, okay? I’ll be about twenty minutes. But I’m going to stay on the phone with you the entire time, I swear, and we’re going to keep talking. Just stay with me, Oliver, okay? I’m here but I need you to stay with me._ ”

Felicity kept true to her promise and continued to talk to Oliver throughout her entire journey to the Queen mansion. She told him everything she was doing, such as getting into her car, doing up her seat belt, unlocking her door… even the little things reassured the archer that his girlfriend was coming for him. Hunter remained curled up by Oliver’s side and allowing his master to stroke him, but the service dog seemed to realize there was only so much he could do to help Oliver. The anxiety attack didn’t get any worse, but it wasn’t really getting any better either. Felicity talking to him was keeping Oliver focused on the present; she guided him through a couple of calming exercises to do with controlling his breathing and tensing his muscles, but her continually telling him that she was going to be there soon and he was going to be okay was the most soothing part of the call.

When Felicity finally arrived at the mansion, Oliver gathered enough strength within himself to stand and stumble out of the kitchen to open the front doors to let her in, although Hunter had to support him. The blonde ducked down to catch him around the waist when Oliver slumped against her in relief, wrapping her arms around her.

“You’re here,” he breathed.

“Said I would be, didn’t I?” Felicity replied softly. She kept one arm around Oliver to make sure he stayed upright while she used the other one to stroke Hunter in praise for making sure his master was okay until she got there. “Come on, let’s go and sit you down, you look like you’re about to keel over.”

Once they were both seated on the couch together with Hunter sitting and observing concernedly, Oliver pulled Felicity onto his lap and buried his head in her neck. He finally began to relax, the heaviness lifting and head clearing a little as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of Felicity threading her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck with one hand, rubbing his back gently with the other. His anxiety had subsided and although the archer still felt on edge and was tired due to the post-panic attack adrenaline crash, he felt much better than before.

“You’ve stopped shaking,” Felicity murmured. “That’s an improvement. I should go get you some water -”

“No,” he protested, tightening his arms around her. “Stay here. Hunter can get it. Hunter, fetch water.”

The service dog snuffled at Oliver’s knee before racing off to collect one of the bottles of water from the packs they kept in the pantry. He seemed almost too desperate to please his master.

“I feel bad for him,” the archer admitted to Felicity sheepishly. “I was freaking out so much earlier than he just couldn’t calm me down. He was the one with the idea to call you.”

Smiling, Felicity propped her chin on top of his shoulder. “Then Hunter did know how to help you. He trusted that I would be able to help.”

“Thank you so much for coming. You didn’t have to.”

“You can always ask me to come over if you’re having a panic attack and need some emotional support, Oliver,” she reassured him. “I know I didn’t have to, but I wanted to.”

The pitter patter of frantic claws on the wooden floor accompanied Hunter’s return, the service dog carrying a bottle of water in his jaws. Felicity slid off Oliver’s lap to sit beside him, taking the bottle from the dog with a scratch under his chin to thank him. She unscrewed the cap before handing it over to Oliver. The archer drank from the bottle gingerly until he’d finished about half of it. He decided to keep hold of it, as he had a slight dehydration headache and probably needed to drink more water anyway.

“I’m going to stay here with you for the rest of the day,” Felicity told him. “Is that okay?”

“More than okay,” he nodded. “I sort of assumed you would be when you said you were going over to your apartment to collect your clothes for dinner. We’re alone in the house until five this evening.” Tracing light circles over the blonde’s palm, he suggested, “We could head into the den and watch a couple more Harry Potter movies… and I could ask Diggle to pick us up some Big Belly Burger for lunch on his way here.”

“That sounds great,” Felicity lit up.

The den was a large room next to the library with ridiculously comfortable patchwork couches, beanbags, a huge flat-screen HD television, and numerous game consoles. It was often where Oliver and Thea held their movie marathons and hung out in the evenings, as they weren’t usually allowed to eat snacks in the formal living room in case they spilled food on the cushions. Oliver was pretty certain each cushion cost over two hundred dollars, so he was only too eager to obey that rule.

The archer led Felicity into the kitchen so they could grab a few bags of chips and pretzels, some more drinks and healthy dog treats for Hunter to enjoy. Once they settled into the den, Felicity wrapped Oliver and his service dog up together in a soft blanket and ordered them to relax while she searched for the next Harry Potter movie, _Order of the Phoenix_. She found it rather quickly considering there were hundreds of DVDs on the shelves.

The remote was all the way on the other side of the room, buried under some blankets; once Felicity was cuddled up to Oliver and Hunter, none of them could be bothered to go and collect it, so they couldn’t fast forward to the main menu. While they waited for the adverts to play out, Oliver took out his cell phone to call his bodyguard.

“Hey Dig,” he greeted him, once he picked up.

“ _Hey, Oliver. It’s eleven thirty, you need me to come over early?_ ”

“No, don’t worry, come at one as you planned,” he reassured. “I was just wondering if you’d be able to pick up some lunch for Felicity and me on your journey.”

“ _Since when did Felicity get there?_ ” Diggle asked incredulously.

“Ah… not long ago,” Oliver glanced over at the blonde, chuckling under his breath when she stuck her tongue out, stroking over Hunter’s head. “I’ll pay for the food, of course. I’ll pay for yours as well if you want to get something for yourself.”

Diggle huffed, but replied, “ _Yeah, I can stop off at Big Belly. What do you want?_ ”

“Big Belly Buster with a strawberry milkshake and chili crinkle fries,” Felicity said, before Oliver could even get the chance to ask her. “Ooh, and a side of onion rings.”

The archer relayed her order and added, “And a cheeseburger with curly fries and a mango smoothie. Felicity and I will share the onion rings. Thanks, Diggle.”

“I never said you could share my onion rings,” Felicity pouted, poking Oliver in the shoulder with a finger as he hung up and scooted forwards to place his cell phone on the table nearby. 

He quirked an eyebrow at her. “If you share the onion rings with me, I’ll give you half of my curly fries.”

“Deal,” Felicity agreed hastily.

They kicked their shoes off and cuddled up together while nibbling on chips, fixing their attention on the screen as the movie began to play. Diggle arrived with the food at the end of _Order of the Phoenix_ , just as scheduled, and he sat down to watch with them to watch the final scenes after passing out the burgers and fries. He ended up stealing a couple of the onion rings as well, although Felicity retaliated by draining the rest of his soda. Hunter snapped up the fries they dropped and despite Oliver’s disapproving look, the service dog rested his head on Felicity’s knees, waiting for her drop another one, and then switched to whining at the bodyguard, thinking he might have better luck there.

It was only when Hunter started messing around a little bit, trying to perform tricks without them asking so that they would have to praise him with food, that Oliver reminded the husky mix sternly, “You’re on duty, remember, buddy. No silliness, please.”

Hunter shot him a dirty look and promptly turned his back on the archer, curling up at Felicity’s feet and licking between her bare toes. The blonde didn’t seem to mind, wiggling them slightly and laughing when Hunter gently caught the digits in his mouth to stop them from moving around.

Cleaning up the trash, Diggle reached down to pat the service dog on the head, saying to Oliver and Felicity amusedly, “Now that I’ve fed and watered the pair of you, I’ll leave you to watch the next Harry Potter movie in peace. I have a feeling I’m not going to be needed for bodyguard duties for the rest of the day.”

“You could join us,” Oliver offered.

“Thanks, but I’ve actually got some things to do this afternoon. I’ve got to, uh, check how security is being set up at that new location.” It was a subtle way of telling the archer that he was heading over to the Foundry, probably to do some weapons maintenance work. “I’ll be back by the time the other Queens get home. Your mother requested that I join you for your family and friends dinner.”

Oliver blinked surprisedly. “As a guest?” He’d asked Moira to invite Diggle to eat with them since he would be on site working anyway, but he hadn’t expected her to actually do it.

“Yes, and I know that’s your doing,” Diggle answered. “I’ll see you all later.”

Felicity stretched out on the couch over Oliver’s lap, waving with one hand. “Bye, Dig!” Hunter barked, thumping his tail from his position in a farewell. “Hunter says bye too! But can you do us a favor before you leave?” She smiled sheepishly. “Um, can you put the next DVD into the console, please? I left the case just in front of it. Thank you.”

The blonde remained lying down with her head resting on the archer’s thighs as they both focused on _The Half-Blood Prince_ , the remote resting on her stomach, as Diggle handed it over to her before exiting. Oliver played with her hair absentmindedly, weaving multiple, delicate braids with nimble fingers. Felicity occasionally gave commentary about differences between the movie and the book, as this was apparently one of the worst films in the series when it came to following the novel’s storyline.

It was nearly three in the afternoon by the time the credits rolled. Felicity leaned up to press a gentle kiss to Oliver’s lips before clambering off the archer and the cushions, stretching out. Hunter scrambled to his paws next to her, yawning and arching his back.

“I think that’s enough Harry Potter for today,” she mused.

Oliver frowned. “But _The Deathly Hallows_ …”

“Will be waiting for you when we have enough time to watch them both back-to-back,” she said. “There are two parts and we’d need a good five hours uninterrupted, and if we started watching now, we’d have to stop halfway. And trust me, you do not want that to happen. As your girlfriend, I care about your state of mind, and stopping mid- _Deathly Hallows_ is a nightmare I don’t want you to experience. We can arrange a meet-up sometime next week in the evening or next weekend.” Seeing the disappointed expression on his face, Felicity suggested, “Why don’t you re-read the book until then?”

He sighed. “Good idea.” He stood as well, shaking out his stiffened limbs. “I’m going to take Hunter out in the gardens for a bit of a run. Care to join me?”

“Sure,” Felicity agreed. “As long as I don’t have to do any actual running. I can’t get too sweaty before I have to change into my outfit for tonight.”

Oliver picked up the empty chip bags to throw away and folded the blankets they’d used into neat piles. “You could take a shower here in my bathroom or even Thea’s. Thea’s would probably be better, she has a full vanity mirror and a proper counter for make-up and stuff.”

“Do you think she’d mind?”

“Not at all. We can ask her later.”

Felicity looked down at what she was wearing, picking at her shirt while biting her lip. Oliver raised an eyebrow, running his eyes up and down her himself appreciatively. His girlfriend was dressed in form-fitting jeans and a black patterned top with owls on it. It was so distinctly _Felicity_ that it, of course, made him smile. “Do you think I should change before your family gets home? The dress I’ll be wearing is a lot more formal than this.”

Oliver wanted to say that he liked what she was wearing already - probably liked it a little too much - but fell back onto the classic, “It’s up to you,” phrase.

Felicity rolled her eyes. “That’s such a ‘man’ answer,” she said. “I guess I’ll stay in these clothes to meet your mother and sister and shower and change after.”

“You’re meeting my step-father as well,” Oliver reminded her.

“I already know Walter from IT work at QC. Although I do want to make a good impression on him when you introduce me as your girlfriend for the first time…”

Sensing her nervousness, the archer stepped up and wrapped her up in a tender embrace, reassuring, “They’re going to love you, no matter what you’re dressed in. And you know I don’t mind what you wear; you could attend the dinner in pajamas and I’d still love you implicitly.”

Felicity froze in his arms, and for a moment Oliver was left wondering what he’d said to make her react with such shock but then she echoed in an awed voice, “You love me?” and he realized what he’d admitted.

All those anxieties about how Felicity might react to him confessing that he more than just cared about her surged back to the surface. But she didn’t seem angry or disgusted - her eyes were shining and there was a little delighted smile on her lips. But there was a hint of confusion there and he panicked. “I - I mean - I’m sorry, maybe it’s too soon, I shouldn’t -” Oliver stammered.

She cut him off, telling him firmly, “I love you too.”

He swallowed, eyes wide. “What?” he said softly.

Gripping his forearms, Felicity looked him directly in the eye so he could see that there was no trace of deception or judgment there. “You can say it, Oliver. It’s not too soon.”

Exhaling, he told himself that… this was it. It was time. There would never be a moment as ideal or perfect as this one to admit what he needed to. Taking a shaky breath, he gathered his confidence, slid his wrists out of Felicity’s hands and entwined their fingers so their joined hands swung between them.

“Felicity… I don’t just like you. I think I’m in love with you. Being with you makes me happier than I’ve ever been in my life. For the last five years, all I’ve known is… darkness, suffering, and pain. And when that goes on for so long, you stop seeing people for... people. You see threats. And when I decided to come home, I - I just didn't know how to turn that part of me off. It felt like I was still trapped on that island, being overwhelmed all the time, forced to adapt to a situation I’d been thrust into with no warning… no matter how hard I tried, my anxiety, depression, and PTSD made it just… impossible to adjust. Even with Hunter by my side, it’s been a constant struggle. But I walked into your office. You were _light_. You were so kind, and understanding, and patient. You didn’t see me as Ollie Queen, you saw me for _me_. And you were the first person that I could see for a person. There was just something about you. I think the moment I first laid eyes on you, I fell in love. I know we’ve only known each other for a short time and maybe we might be moving too fast, but… it just seems like in my life right now, there is nothing more important than my love for you. I didn’t even know it was possible for me to love anymore… and I’m overjoyed that it’s you I’m in love with.”

Felicity’s eyes were filled with tears. “Oliver…”

“You don’t have to say anything,” he said hurriedly, wiping at his own wet eyes. “I know before you said - you said you love me, but - you don’t have to say anything, you don’t need to -”

“I’m in love with you too,” she interrupted. “I’ve never felt this way… about _anybody_ before. When we went on that coffee date and then continued meeting up afterward, I knew that there was… something between us. And to be honest with you, I felt so confused, and lost. I had no idea what any of these overpowering emotions I was feeling were, especially considering they were all about you. It was so stupid, when I realized what they signified - it was when we were at my apartment and you just gave me this gave dopey smile during my ridiculous Sorcerer’s Stone vs Philosopher’s Stone rant and I just knew, I just _knew_ that I loved you. And at first, I was so scared. I don’t think I’ve ever been in love with someone as deeply and unconditionally as I am with you and I didn’t know whether or not you would reciprocate those feelings. I thought that it was unthinkable. Knowing that you do is…” she laughed breathlessly. “It’s more than anything and everything I have ever wanted. Oliver, you _deserve_ to love somebody and you deserve to be loved. You hide the fact that you are such a good person at heart behind your damage and scars and I think that’s because you’re afraid of being hurt. I am promising you now that you will never have a reason to be scared with me. I will always, _always_ be there for you. I love you.”

Oliver could barely speak he was so engulfed with emotion, tilting his head forward to rest his forehead against Felicity’s. “God, how did I ever live without you,” he said, his voice thick and cracking.

The emotional moment was broken by Hunter whining, obviously confused by all the crying, hormones and strong feelings being thrown about. Felicity and Oliver glanced over towards the service dog and broke out laughing when they saw he had rolled over onto his back to expose his belly for rubs and pets, tail still wagging a hundred miles per hour but putting him off-balance on his spine so he was wriggling about. Once he saw that the humans were watching him, the husky mix leaped to his paws and padded over, flicking his ears warily as he emitted a questioning huff.

“You really have a habit of knowing when you need to make us laugh, buddy,” Oliver chuckled, as both he and Felicity knelt down to fuss over the dog.

As Hunter snuggled into their arms, the archer leaned over the top of his head to tenderly press his lips to Felicity’s. She freed one of her arms to curl her fingers into his shirt and pull him closer towards her, deepening the kiss. It was short and sweet and passionate, as their kisses always were, yet this one seemed more intense and meaningful after their confessions of love, as if signifying this was the start of a more profound and intimate partnership between them.

They didn’t break apart until Hunter squirmed and tried to escape the hug, running for the den’s door and scratching at it to let them know he wanted to go outside. Helping Felicity to her feet, Oliver refused to release the blonde’s hand as he led her outside and onto the pool patio so they could look out to the large grounds beyond. Hunter waited until Oliver told him he was off-duty before dashing off the patio into the grass, stopping somewhere around the rose gardens to relieve himself before sprinting back towards them.

Felicity scooped up a tennis ball from where there was a small bucket of them next to the pool’s lounge chairs. “Can I play with him for a bit?”

“He hasn’t gone out this morning because we woke up late, so he needs to run around.” Pointing at the ball in her hand, he asked, “How are you at throwing and catching?”

“I’m good,” she replied.

“As good as you apparently are at laser tag?” he teased.

Rolling her eyes, Felicity amended, “I’m decent. I was on the girls’ baseball team at MIT when it came to the charity fun tournaments. I can throw a fair distance and catch.”

“I have a game we can play with Hunter then.”

Oliver jogged further down the garden so there were around thirty feet between him and Felicity and signaled at her to throw him the ball. She did so, relatively well with good aim, and he caught it. Hunter, spotting what they were doing, rushed over, and soon the archer and the blonde were chucking the tennis ball back and forth between them with the service dog racing after it. Sometimes Hunter tried to jump up to catch the ball mid-air, but it unluckily bounced off his muzzle each time so he narrowly missed it.

They continued with this game until the service dog became bored of it, deciding to sit and watch the ball sail between the two humans until they dropped it and he could dart in to pick it up. Hunter looked tired by the time he had the tennis ball in his mouth. He was content to hop up onto one of the pool loungers and lie down on his belly while chewing at the ball lazily, allowing Oliver and Felicity to go on a wander of their own through the rose garden, since the archer knew that Hunter would come when called and they could leave him on their own for now. The flowers weren’t entirely in bloom yet, just peeking out of their buds, but it was still a nice, quiet environment to enjoy the scenery in. They found a wooden swing bench and sat down next to each other on it, Felicity resting her head on Oliver’s shoulder while the archer rested his head on top of hers.

“Is there anything I should or shouldn’t talk about with your family and friends tonight?” Felicity asked out of the blue, sounding a little nervous. 

He thought for a moment. “There’s not anything you _should_ talk about, although they’ll probably want to hear about your work, education, family life and the dates the two of us have been on. There are quite a few topics to avoid.”

“I’m guessing your father, the Queen’s Gambit and the island are some of them.”

“You would be correct. Other ones include… mine and Laurel’s romantic past, her sister, Tommy’s father… Tommy will most likely try and flirt with you, just warning you now.”

“But isn’t he going out with Laurel?” Felicity frowned.

“It’s complicated,” he sighed. “It wouldn’t surprise me if Tommy tries to prod for information about our sex lives either.”

Felicity blushed, glancing away and muttering, “He will be sorely disappointed in that regard. It’s okay with you that we haven’t… had sex yet, right? I know we’ve only got to first base, but our relationship is kind of new and while we both know we love each other now, it still seems too early to me.”

“I agree,” he said. “And it’s totally okay we haven’t gone past first base. You’re right, our relationship is new, and I don’t want us to rush and regret things. We should be completely comfortable about taking that next step and if we’re not ready for that at the moment, that’s fine. We have all the time in the world. To be truthful, I personally don’t think I’m ready for that sort of physical intimacy yet. Not because I don’t want to or don’t trust you, but because I’m not all that comfortable with my body and all the changes it’s gone through, and I don’t think I’m ready for the vulnerability that comes with sex yet.”

Releasing a shaky breath, Felicity relaxed visibly. Oliver didn’t realize she’d tensed up in the first place, worried about how he might answer, but she was obviously relieved. “Okay,” she murmured. “Okay, good. I mean, not good about the not being comfortable with your body thing, but we can work on that together. And maybe I can help you with becoming more confident about being physically vulnerable. I - I was just worried. The last time I was in a relationship…” she trailed off, her voice caught in her throat.

He didn’t want to pressure her to talk, but this sounded like something he probably needed to be aware of, if it concerned Felicity’s past and how it could affect their relationship. Squeezing her hand, Oliver assured her quietly, “You don’t have to tell me, but I’m here for you if you want to.”

“No, I should tell you. You deserve to know,” she said, brushing her hair out of her face. “I’ve only ever been in one long-term relationship in my life, while I was at MIT, with a man called Cooper Seldon. I was young and dazzled by his charm and wit, so much so that I didn’t realize until it was too late that he was a pretty shit boyfriend. He wanted to have sex a lot, but I was focusing on my studies instead and he didn’t like that. I wouldn’t say he forced me to have sex with him but he definitely manipulated and coerced me into it several times. And I know that you are _nothing_ like Cooper was, nowhere close - in fact, you’re the complete opposite, you’re the best boyfriend I’ve ever had while he was the worst - but it’s something I always get anxious about when it comes to new relationships. Not many men are as patient and considerate as you are, Oliver.”

The archer somehow managed to constrain the anger that flared inside of him towards this Cooper person, clenching his hand that wasn’t holding Felicity’s into a fist that he would have just _loved_ to punch the blonde’s ex-boyfriend with. “Any man who pressures a woman into having sex with them is not a man,” he said tightly. “They’re an asshole and an abuser.” When Oliver had been younger, yes, he’d been a douchebag, but he’d always known that taking advantage of a girl, or making her do something with him against her will, was just plain wrong. The fact that this Cooper had traumatized Felicity so much that she’d been frightened in every relationship since that she might be forced into intimate acts with her partner, was nowhere near okay. “If or when we do have sex, both of us will be consenting and should feel safe around each other.”

“I always feel safe around you,” Felicity sighed, turning her face into his shoulder.

His heart warmed. “I feel safe with you too.”

He kissed her on the forehead, wrapping an arm around her waist in a half-hug as she huddled into him, partly for comfort but also because the wind was a little nippy. They’d both come outside without jackets on and due to Felicity’s short-sleeved top, Oliver could see the goosebumps along her arms. The archer could tell that the weather was starting turn; the air was heavy and dense, and he could perceive that it would begin storming soon, maybe even in a couple of minutes, because of the darkness of the cloud cover paired with the high humidity.

“C’mon, let’s head in,” he said, guiding her to her feet. “I think it’s going to rain.”

“How do you know?” she asked, as they started walking out of the rose garden back towards the house.

“Island senses,” he winked.

They were barely halfway back to the patio when a distant boom of thunder sounded, accompanied by rain starting to fall. Oliver quickly took Felicity’s hand and began to run, because although the rain was starting off as a light drizzle, he could tell that it was going to get much worse. Hunter streaked over the lawn from the pool area, tennis ball abandoned as he trotted at the archer’s side, back on duty even though Oliver hadn’t ordered him to be, as the service dog knew how thunderstorms made him antsy.

It was pouring down by the time they managed to get inside, and Oliver, Felicity, and Hunter were soaked. Fortunately, they’d entered through the back door to the kitchen, so it didn’t matter that they were dripping onto the marble tiles. Oliver ducked out to grab some towels to dry them all off while Felicity wrung water out of her hair out into the sink, and by some miracle threw a towel onto Hunter’s back before he could shake out his fur and drench the floor as well. More thunder rolled, closer and louder this time. The rain only seemed to fall heavier - they’d definitely headed in at the right time.

“Your island senses couldn’t have warned us about the storm a little sooner?” Felicity raised an eyebrow, trying to dry off her jeans but they were too wet at this point.

“Hey, they got us inside before we were stuck in that,” he replied, motioning at the torrential downpour beyond the windows as he continued rubbing a towel over the husky mix’s pelt. Hunter was not happy at this, ears flat to his skull and tail between his legs, but he stood “I’d say my senses deserve a round of applause.”

“They can get a kiss instead,” Felicity smiled, leaning up onto her tiptoes so she could kiss his cheek.

Once Hunter’s fur was damp rather than waterlogged, Oliver let the service dog free, and the husky mix was only too eager to escape his towel prison. He shook himself instinctively once more to rid himself of phantom wetness before trotting off, cocking his ears forwards as he heard some faraway noise. The archer could hear some shuffling and faint voices from the foyer area so he hazarded a guess that his mother, stepfather, and sister were home half an hour earlier than expected.

“Do you think you’re ready to meet my family?” he asked Felicity.

She shot him a strange look. “Why?”

“I think they’re here.”

Felicity’s eyes widened. “Already?” she hissed. “But they’re - they’re early! You said they would be back at five!” She looked down at herself with a groan. “I’m a soaking wet _mess_.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” he reassured, combing his fingers through her hair, which was tangled from her toweling it, while Felicity poured water out of her boots. “They’re probably just as wet as us; we were all caught in the rain.”

“Oliver? Are you there?” they heard Moira call from the other side of the house.

Felicity squeaked. “Oh god!”

He rubbed over her shoulders soothingly. “It’s alright, relax. I’m coming, Mom!” he shouted back. “Felicity, just be your normal, adorable, remarkable self and I guarantee they will love you.”

Despite Oliver’s reassurances, Felicity remained skittish and concerned and insisted on walking behind the archer as they made their way out into the foyer. Hunter was sitting in the doorway and waiting for them; he immediately plastered himself to Felicity’s legs, sensing her anxiety. Oliver kept one of his arms angled behind him so that she could hold onto his hand.

It seemed that Moira, Walter, and Thea had used umbrellas because they were nowhere near as wet as Oliver and Felicity were, although they were pulling off coats that were splattered with water.

“You’re early,” he greeted them.

“They called off Thea’s lacrosse game because of the storm forecast, so we swung by to pick her up on our way home from QC,” Walter responded, his back to them as he and Moira hung up their jackets.

“Speaking of QC, we attempted to check in with Miss Smoak in the IT department today to ask if she would like us to send a car to pick her up, and she apparently went home early due to a family -” Moira cut herself off, instantly recognizing Felicity peeking out from behind her son when she turned around to face them. “Oh. Miss Smoak. You’re… here.” She both appeared and sounded confused.

“Hi, Mrs Queen,” Felicity said shyly, stepping forward with her hand out. “I’m Oliver’s girlfriend. It’s lovely to meet you. Oliver, er, called and asked me to come over this morning, which was why I wasn’t at work today.”

Oliver could see how his mother was narrowing her eyes suspiciously and also in judgment, as she disapproved of the idea of Felicity skipping on work and lying about a family emergency to spend time with the archer. “Actually, Felicity’s not telling the whole story,” he explained. “I forgot that the dinner was today and when I was reminded after waking up, I had a panic attack. Hunter was helping me, but I was too worked up for him to stop it, so I called Felicity and requested she come over. She knows how to calm me down. She’s been with me all afternoon to help me with my anxiety about tonight.”

Moira took Felicity’s hand to shake it, her expression softening. She didn’t release the younger woman’s hand and instead clasped it between her own two. “Well, thank you, Miss Smoak, for taking care of my son. It’s wonderful to meet you as well. Please, call me Moira… if you and Oliver are dating, you are part of our family, and there are no formalities when you’re family.”

“Then please, call me Felicity,” she replied, the tension in her shoulders easing. Turning to face Walter, she inclined her head respectfully. “Mr Steele, it’s good to see you again.”

“And you as well, Felicity,” Walter replied. “Don’t worry, you won’t have to reinstall the executive email software on my laptop anytime soon. This time I think the ‘permanently installed’ label is a true one - I haven’t managed to accidentally delete it as of yet.”

Felicity laughed. “That’s a relief.” She caught sight of the way Thea was hanging back cautiously and observing her. “You must be Thea, right? Your brother talks about you a lot.”

Thea looked surprised. “He does?”

“Yep. Thank you for convincing him to read the Harry Potter books. He might be way behind on pop culture - and by way behind, I mean more than five years behind - but it was more than relieving to know he had somebody helping him start catching up,” Felicity smiled. “Did he tell you we’ve been watching all of the movies together?”

“No,” Thea said slowly, glancing over at Oliver with a look of betrayal.

“You should join us when we watch the two _Deathly Hallows_ movies,” Felicity suggested.

“That sounds great, actually,” Thea said, and then she asked very bluntly, “ So is my brother as shit at kissing after the island as I think he must be?”

Oliver immediately felt his cheeks heating up and he knew that he was blushing in embarrassment. “Thea, you can’t ask that!”

Both Moira and Walter looked at her with exasperated expressions, and even Hunter seemed to realize that everybody was annoyed with Thea, because the service dog growled at her half-heartedly. But his little sister didn’t seem at all bothered by them. “It’s a genuine question. You haven’t kissed anybody in half a decade so you’re out of practice, and you’re bound to be awful. As your sibling, I should be aware of these things.”

“So you can make fun of him?” Felicity questioned with a frown.

Thea shrugged. “If you give me an honest answer, I promise that I won’t.”

“Felicity, dear, you don’t have to,” Moira said, glaring at her daughter.

“It’s okay,” Felicity said. “Thea’s just looking out for her brother, right?” She quirked an eyebrow, smirking when Thea nodded in agreement. “Moira, Walter, you might want to cover your ears if you don’t want to hear this. Oliver’s an excellent kisser. His lips are like little pillow mountains.” Oliver gaped at her, mortified. At least his mother and step-father had their hands over their ears so they couldn’t hear this. But Felicity winked at him and continued, “He’s forgotten what the appropriate amount of tongue is after his five years away, but I wouldn't say that’s necessarily a bad thing -”

“Ew, okay, stop,” Thea wrinkled her nose. “TMI, Felicity.”

“Hey, you asked,” she said innocently.

“Your clothes are practically dripping, do you want to come up to my room and shower? We can have your clothes dry-cleaned,” Thea offered.

Felicity grinned. “That would be great, thanks. I have my dress for dinner to change into though, so don’t worry about the dry-cleaning.”

“Did you bring another change of clothes other than the dress?”

“Ah, no?”

Thea looked puzzled. “If you’re staying overnight with Ollie, don’t you want dry clothes in the morning?”

Moira, who had stopped covering her ears now, said before Felicity could protest, “I’ll ask Raisa to put them in with one of the loads she’ll do this evening.”

Blinking, the blonde glanced over at Oliver. The archer had to admit, he hadn’t even considered asking what Felicity was planning to do after the dinner, or whether or not she was going home. It made sense that she sleep over, considering it was likely the dinner would run late. They hadn’t shared a bed yet, though, despite their relationship status.

“That’s a good idea, Mom,” Oliver voiced his opinion. “Thank you.”

“We’re going to get ready for tonight, so we’ll see you soon,” Walter said. “Oliver, I have a neckerchief picked out for Hunter, I’ll leave it on the floor outside your bedroom door for you to put on him after he’s been brushed. Don’t hesitate to ask if you need anything, Felicity.”

“Thank you,” she answered.

Moira and Walter vanished up the staircase, leaving Oliver, Felicity, Thea, and the service dog behind in the foyer.

“Are you sure you’re okay with me staying over?” Felicity asked the archer quietly. “I know we didn’t discuss sleeping arrangements…”

“Felicity, my bed is big enough for both of us, and there’s a couch in my room as well if either of us finds it uncomfortable sharing,” he replied, his voice an equally low volume.

Thea tugged at Felicity’s arm, heading towards the staircase. “You coming?”

The blonde picked up the bag she’d dropped by the front door earlier when she’d first arrived, beaming. “Yeah.” She kissed Oliver sweetly, humming against his lips. “See you later.”

“Can’t wait,” he smiled.

The two girls ascended the stairs and disappeared, chatting with each other. Oliver looked down at his service dog, who was sitting on his haunches, watching Felicity go sadly, but Hunter glanced back up at his master with his tail wagging after a minute or so. After fetching some of the dog grooming supplies they kept in a cupboard for Hunter, Oliver headed to his bedroom with the husky mix at his heels. Usually, they would have somebody come in to specially groom Hunter for formal occasions, but since this was only a family and friends dinner, Oliver had told his mother and step-father that he could easily manage to smarten up the service dog. He decided to focus on Hunter before showering himself, brushing out his damp fur, drying him with a hairdryer and using his fingers to work a special lotion into the husky mix’s pelt to make him appear glossy. The whole process took at least thirty minutes, which was double the time that Oliver usually took to get ready. He showered after finishing with the lotion, to allow time for it to soak into Hunter’s fur. He emerged from the bathroom naked apart from a towel around his waist to brush the service dog again, marveling at the sheen the lotion had given his pelt, and then got dressed into a dark grey suit with a light blue shirt. He ultimately determined to for-go any kind of tie and used a little gel to make his hair more presentable.

Walter had indeed left a neckerchief for Hunter outside the door when Oliver went to check. It was blue and green plaid and had little clips to attach to the service dog’s normal collar. Both of the boys now prepared and dressed, Oliver exited his bedroom and walked along the corridor to Thea’s. It had been nearly an hour since he’d last seen them.

Knocking, he called, “Everybody decent in there?”

Felicity responded, answering, “Yeah, you can come in.”

Thea was in the bathroom showering when he let himself in, his girlfriend sitting in front of the vanity in a bathrobe. Oliver slid up behind her, resting his hands on the back of her chair as he watched her begin brushing out her recently dried hair.

“Anything I can do to help?” he said.

Felicity didn’t answer for a moment but then held up the hairbrush. “I can’t get the back.”

Oliver took it without question and started gently easing the knots out of the hair she couldn’t reach, running his fingers through the locks for good measure and admiring how silky it felt. He could also faintly smell what the products she’d used were fragranced. “Is your shampoo coconut and pineapple scented?”

“Coconut and passion fruit,” Felicity corrected, but she seemed impressed. “It’s subtle, I didn’t think anybody could pick it up. That another one of your island senses?”

“Maybe,” he replied cryptically.

She stroked over Hunter’s head when the service dog crept up and rested his muzzle on her knee. “I love the way Hunter’s fur is shiny. And the neckerchief is really cute.”

“Walter buys him a special lotion,” Oliver said, concentrating on making sure he didn’t accidentally yank on his girlfriend’s hair too hard. “And yeah, I think it’s one of my favorite accessories for him I’ve seen so far.” He handed the hairbrush back to her. “Done.”

“Thank you.” She began styling her hair into half up and half down, tightening the top half into a neat bun and then borrowing some of Thea’s strange tong to crinkle the bottom half into waves. “Please know that while I can’t completely see you because of the way I’m angling my head and where you’re standing behind the chair, I’m certain you look amazing in that suit.”

He sidestepped so he was in sight line of the mirror and she could see him properly. “Better?”

“I was right, you look incredible. Although, you always look incredible, so that’s no surprise.”

“Even following an hour-long panic attack after just waking up?”

“It’s impossible for you not to be handsome all the time, Oliver,” Felicity chuckled. “Yes, you’re pretty even when having a panic attack.”

“Is my brother out there?” Thea yelled from inside the bathroom.

“Sorry, Thea, I can leave if you need me to,” he replied.

“Can you pass me the dress lying on my bed please?”

He collected the dress she was talking about, orange in color with little silver stud detailing, and opened up the bathroom door enough to poke his arm through so he could hand it over to her. By the time Oliver turned back around, Felicity had finished her hair and was now working on her make-up. Hunter was seated obediently at her side and was delicately holding a tube of mascara in his mouth for her.

“I hate to be a pain, but would it be possible for you to ask your mom if she has a lighter colored eyebrow pencil?” Felicity said. “I forgot mine at home and Thea’s one is a little too dark to suit me.”

“How much lighter do you need it to be?” he asked.

Felicity showed him Thea’s eyebrow pencil and then, on second thoughts, just gave it to him. “Something a couple shades lighter than that, thanks. You’re such a great boyfriend.”

“Anything for my extraordinary girlfriend,” he murmured, smiling softly. “Hunter, stay here with Felicity, I’ll be back in a minute.”

His mother did have a lighter colored eyebrow pencil for Felicity to use and told Oliver to tell her that because it was powdery, she might need to use less but add a bit of moisture. He repeated this back dutifully to his girlfriend and then perched on the end of Thea’s bed, watching curiously as Felicity applied various substances from different bottles and containers to her face. Oliver had very little make-up knowledge, only enough to get by and not seem like an idiot, so didn’t offer to help as he knew his aid wouldn’t make any difference.

“You might need to step outside while I get into my dress,” Felicity said sheepishly. “I’ll end up flashing you, otherwise.”

He thought about cheekily responding about how that wouldn’t be a bad thing, but kept his mouth shut and waited outside the bedroom door until Felicity told him he could come back in. A magenta dress hugged her figure with short, flared sleeves and what appeared to be shoulder cut-outs, but since the dress was undone at the back, he couldn’t tell exactly.

“Zip me, please?”

Swallowing and forcing himself to ignore the large expanse of bare back Felicity was presenting to him (he so badly wanted to run his fingers down her spine just to watch her shiver), Oliver strode forwards so he was standing directly behind her and dragged the zipper from the small of her back to the top of the dress. Hunter eyed him knowingly from where he was sitting, and if a dog could side-eye a human, that was what the husky mix was doing. Oliver’s hands dropped down and settled on the blonde’s hips as Felicity made a couple of minor adjustments before turning around.

Oliver hissed under his breath. “Shit, your _shoulders_.”

“What about them?” Felicity asked, slipping her feet into some white heels.

He couldn’t take his eyes off them. The cut-outs of the dress exposed them perfectly. “You seriously think I’m going to be able to keep my hands off you tonight when you look like this?” Stroking his thumbs over the pale skin revealed, Oliver bit back his groan.

“Mr Queen, do you have a thing for my shoulders?” Felicity asked, her voice teasing but also surprised.

“I don’t want to hear about any sort of _thing_ my brother has for you,” Thea said, emerging from the bathroom. She was wearing the orange studded dress Oliver had handed her before and she’d lightly curled her hair into loose ringlets.

“Says the girl who was asking about her brother’s kissing,” Felicity commented.

Thea rolled her eyes amusedly. “Yeah, and didn’t that backfire? Tommy, Laurel and Mr Diggle are set to arrive in fifteen minutes, we should go downstairs and get ready to meet them. Mom and Walter will already be down there.”

Oliver’s mother and stepfather were indeed back in the foyer waiting for their guests to arrive when the three of them headed down there, Hunter sticking by Felicity’s side as he was intrigued by her change of clothes. Moira was dressed in a simple, sleek black dress while Walter was wearing a dark blue suit with a blue helix patterned tie.

“Felicity, you look stunning,” Moira praised her. “You as well, Thea.”

“Thank you, Moira,” Felicity smiled. “I love your dress, it’s so elegant.”

“And I love yours. That color suits you very well.”

Walter and Oliver exchanged looks as the girls continued to compliment each other, and the archer’s stepfather bent down to adjust Hunter’s neckerchief, which had been knocked out of place while descending the staircase.

“So, Ollie, you have told Tommy and Laurel about dating Felicity, right?” Thea asked. “Because I told them you have a girlfriend and they didn’t really seem to know much.”

“Ah, I mentioned in a couple of texts to them I’ve been going out with somebody,” Oliver replied sheepishly. “I… haven’t said much else.”

Thea looked concerned. “You don’t think Laurel will act weirdly, do you?”

“Yes, I was worrying about that myself,” Moira added.

“I think Miss Lance is mature and polite enough to know she mustn’t cause a scene,” Walter shook his head.

“I’m sorry, why do we think Laurel will act strangely?” Oliver questioned, looking between all his family members in confusion.

“She’s your ex-girlfriend,” Felicity said.

“So?”

She looked at him pointedly. “Ex-girlfriends don’t usually like meeting current girlfriends.”

“Laurel is attending as my friend tonight, not as my ex-girlfriend,” Oliver responded. “I think she’ll be on her best behavior. Well… I hope she will be.” Hunter snuffled at his palms with a light huff. “Hunter will keep an eye on her.”

A key turned in the front doors and all of them turned, frowning. Diggle poked his head around, and seeing them all gathered in the foyer, said, “Sorry, I thought I was early and you would all be getting ready still.”

“You’re ten minutes early but that’s fine,” Oliver said, beckoning him in. “Thanks for coming, Dig.”

“It’s my pleasure,” the bodyguard answered, stepping inside and going around the group, shaking their hands and greeting them personally. He’d changed out of his usual black suit into a light grey one, with a black and white striped tie. “I’m delighted to have been invited. Hey, Hunter.” He fell to one knee to scratch the service dog’s ears. “You been looking after Oliver and Felicity for me today?”

“He has,” Felicity answered. “He snuggled with us during the entire Dumbledore death scene in _The Half-Blood Prince_ because he thought we were upset.”

“You know for a PTSD service dog, he’s very affectionate,” Diggle mused, straightening up.

“That just means Oliver gets more hugs,” Tommy said with a charming grin, striding through the open front doors with Laurel on his arm. “Evening, Queens.”

“Hi, buddy,” the archer laughed, hugging him with a hefty pat on the back before he turned and hugged Laurel as well. “Hey, Laurel.”

“It’s so good to see you, Oliver,” Laurel smiled. Peering around him, she questioned inquisitively, “Is this is the mysterious girlfriend Thea has told us so much about?”

“Or not told us so much about,” Tommy corrected. “We hardly know anything about her.” There was a strange lilt to his voice that made Oliver frown, because Tommy’s friendliness sounded… fake. The large, welcoming grin on his face was a mask. It was only the coldness in his eyes that truly gave him away. “Hi, Tommy Merlyn, this big lug’s best friend. And you are?”

“Felicity Smoak,” Felicity introduced herself. “It’s so nice to meet you.”

“And you,” Laurel said, leaning in to give her a brief hug. “So how did you and Oliver meet?”

“I work in QC’s IT department and he… spilled a latte on his laptop and needed somebody to salvage all the files and data,” Felicity explained, glancing over at the archer with a slightly raised eyebrow.

He winced, remembering how awful that particular lie was, and withheld his flinch at the reminder of how he was still keeping his Hood identity a secret from Felicity. It was remarkable, actually, how Felicity hadn’t asked him for the truth about the bullet-ridden laptop that had led them to meet. Maybe she knew more than she let on.

“I didn’t know you drink lattes,” Tommy commented to Oliver. “I thought you don’t drink coffee anymore because of your anxiety.”

“I don’t really,” Oliver shrugged. “But very occasionally if I need the pick-me-up after a difficult night, I’ll get a weak form of coffee like a latte or a mocha for the little caffeine boost.” Looking back over at his girlfriend with a gentle smile, he continued the story, “But yeah, Hunter was completely taken with her and to be honest, I was too. I asked her if she’d like to go for a coffee sometime, eventually gathered my courage enough to text her about it, and… our relationship developed from there.”

“That’s really sweet.” Laurel seemed genuinely pleased for them. There was no hint of hostility in her voice or body language.

“I never believed in love at first sight until I met Oliver,” Felicity murmured.

The archer tucked her into his side, pressing a kiss to her head with a content smile. “If you’re trying to get girlfriend brownie points, it’s working.”

“Let’s head into the living room,” Moira suggested, her gaze warm as she watched her son and Felicity together. “Get everybody some drinks.”

Laurel and Tommy continued asking about Oliver and Felicity’s dates and how they’d got together as they settled on the couches; Felicity squeezed in between Oliver and Diggle on one, comfortable between her boys with Hunter lying at their feet, and Laurel, Moira, and Thea sat on another, Tommy and Walter deciding to stand. Everybody chose an alcoholic drink such as wine or beer apart from Oliver, who asked for water. As the conservation continued, Felicity steering it more towards the others now since she must have been able to sense the archer’s growing agitation about how his family and friends were prodding for more information about their relationship, Oliver found himself ducking his head to kiss his girlfriend’s bare shoulder, to reassure himself that she was here and supporting him.

Noticing what he was doing, Thea squealed happily. “You two are so cute together!”

“You think that’s cute, you should see what they’re like when they’re on a date,” Diggle chuckled.

“I can only imagine,” Moira said, shooting Felicity an adoring look. Clearly, Oliver’s mother already approved of him being with Felicity, and that was a relief. “Do you two have any plans for further dates?”

“Laser tag,” Oliver answered immediately.

Felicity rolled her eyes fondly. “Oliver…”

“You’re still going ahead with the laser tag competition?” Diggle questioned. “Does your invite from last time still stand?”

“Of course,” the archer said. “You should all come. We can turn it into a friends and family outing.”

“You just want teammates for the competition because you know I will flatten you,” Felicity accused.

Seeing his friends’ bemused expressions, Oliver explained, “Felicity’s really good at laser tag and thinks she can beat Diggle and I. Aside from the laser tag, I was thinking of perhaps checking out that new Thai restaurant on the corner of Newman and eighth.”

“Yes, the reviews appear excellent,” Walter said, “I was thinking of taking your mother there for an evening out myself.”

“We’ll need to see if they’re service dog friendly first though,” Felicity reminded.

“Did Oliver tell you about the incident with a waiter who refused to let Oliver in with Hunter and threatened to call the police, when he met Tommy and I for lunch at Guardo’s, that Italian place near QC?” Laurel asked her.

“He did not. What happened?”

As Laurel started telling Felicity the story, Oliver caught Tommy motioning for him to join him in the foyer out of the corner of his eye. Patting Hunter’s head in a silent order for him to stay with his girlfriend, Oliver excused himself quietly before following his best friend out of the room. He suspected that this was going to be about Tommy’s opinion of Felicity, and judging by his hard looks and the sharp way he’d spoken to her so far, Oliver didn’t think his best friend had anything nice to say.

“I can already tell from your expression that you don’t like Felicity,” the archer said sternly, before Tommy could speak. He made sure his voice was low in volume so it didn’t echo into the living room, where the others might overhear. “What I don’t understand is _why_. You just met her, you barely know her -”

“And that’s the problem, Ollie,” Tommy scowled. “I _don’t_ know her. How do you know that she isn’t some gold-digging bitch out for your money?”

“Don’t you _dare_ insult Felicity like that,” Oliver responded instantly, his voice a snarl.

“It’s been - what, a month? Since you met her? And you’re already in a serious relationship?”

“Because we care about each other,” he replied. “And Felicity doesn’t give a shit about money, Tommy. In fact, she doesn’t care about my reputation, fame or celebrity status in Starling, _at all_. She loves me for _me_.”

“You don’t know that,” Tommy said. “Words can be lies, actions can be faked. She could easily be deceiving you.”

His frustration got the better of him, and the archer took an intimidating step towards his best friend, his eyes fierce. “Felicity is not leading me on or manipulating me. I trust her. And you know how hard it is for me to trust people after the island. I trust her implicitly and I wish you trusted my judgment of her enough to back off and accept Felicity as my girlfriend and try to get to know her for the wonderful person she is, rather than continue with this frosty attitude towards her.”

Tommy scoffed. “You think that’s the problem? That I don’t trust your judgment?”

Oliver sighed tiredly. “Then what the hell is the problem, Tommy? Because from where I am, it just seems to me that you made a snap mis-assumption about my girlfriend and have been rude to her because of it.”

“For fuck’s sake, I’m _worried_ about you, Oliver!” Tommy snarled. “You’re my best friend who just went through half a decade of horrific trauma and you’ve come out of it with mental health issues up to your ears - I’m always concerned about you! You forget that I know about every single relationship you’ve ever had in the past - that I know precisely how messed up each one was, about how many of the girls you dated only wanted to be with you for access to gifts from your trust fund, or meaningless sex, or popularity! And back then, before the island, you used to be hurt when their true intentions were revealed, but you always bounced back! Found another woman to jump into a toxic relationship with, just like you did with Laurel after that stupid Mandy Clint planted cameras in your bedroom to record a sex tape with you and sell it. Because you, me, even Laurel are aware that you and her together were like combining francium and water, and I know that you know what that metaphor means because you got a B in high school chemistry. I don’t want you to throw yourself into this relationship with this Felicity Smoak - because you love so utterly and deeply when you truly believe in somebody, Oliver, that’s just who you are - because if this entire thing goes south and she breaks your heart… after everything you’ve gone through, I’m not sure you’d be able to recover.” Tommy deflated, all of his anger leaching out of him so he was left staring at the archer helplessly. “I already lost you once, man, I can’t lose you again. I don’t want to have to watch my best friend destroy himself by strolling straight onto an emotional Queen’s Gambit, knowing that it’s gonna sink.”

Oliver was speechless. He yanked Tommy into a tight embrace the moment it looked like he was going to start crying, trying to offer some comfort. The archer’s eyes slammed shut when he felt his best friend shudder against him and sob silently. “Jesus, man… You’re not going to lose me.”

“You said you wouldn’t be gone long enough for me to miss you just before you got onto that yacht but then I was stuck missing and mourning you for five years, so forgive me if I don’t take your word as gospel.”

His breath hitched in his chest, and Oliver tightened his arms around Tommy even more. “Yeah, well this time there aren’t going to be any boats of any kind involved, so you don’t have to worry about me getting shipwrecked again anytime soon.” He pulled back, clamping his hand down on his friend’s shoulder. “I would apologize for making you worry about me and tell you that you don’t have to anymore, because that’s what I have a service dog and a girlfriend for, but I know you would anyway. Look, just… talk to Felicity. I already trust that she’s not going to break my heart, and maybe if you get to know her a little, you’ll see you have nothing to be afraid of in that regard.”

Tommy nodded hesitantly and the pair of them moved back into the living room, where the group was engaged in a conversation about an upcoming trip to England Walter was going to be making for business purposes. Felicity shot Oliver a look that indicated she knew what they’d been talking about, and Hunter jumped up to go and paw at Tommy’s feet, sensing his upset. They’d barely sat back down when Raisa announced that the food was ready to be served.

Dinner was a roasted beef hock with vegetables and a rich gravy, a meal that Oliver knew must have been picked out especially for him, as there was nothing too overwhelming in taste or texture, or anything with too many spices that could upset his stomach. The rest of them enjoyed it, however. Hunter sat underneath the table calmly, although the archer could see from the beady look in the service dog’s eyes that he was waiting for someone to drop a piece of their beef that he could pounce on. He sat in between Felicity and Thea and ended up mostly listening to the conversations that the others were having, smiling as he watched his girlfriend cheerily interact with his family members and friends. Tommy was even less stony, butting in to suggest other books, TV shows and movies Felicity should try and get Oliver caught up on when Thea, Laurel, and Felicity were discussing it.

After dessert was finished and it was time for the guests to leave, Oliver was satisfied that the dinner had gone well and Felicity had been properly integrated into their little faction. Tommy might still not trust her, but everybody else appeared to love her.

“She’s so amazing, Ollie,” Laurel whispered into his ear, as they were hugging goodbye. “She’s a keeper, for sure. Anybody who looks at you two together can tell she makes you happy, and you deserve somebody who can make you happy.”

“Thank you, Laurel,” he responded, and he would be lying if he said that he wasn’t slightly choked up.

When Laurel walked back to Tommy’s side, Oliver’s best friend switched his gaze between the archer and his girlfriend and suggested, “Maybe the four of us could get together for brunch sometime.”

“That would be great,” Felicity replied, smiling.

Tommy just nodded at her before saying goodbye to the others and taking his leave with Laurel. Oliver grimaced. Obviously, it was going to take time for his best friend to fully accept and get used to Felicity being Oliver’s girlfriend, but he was more than certain that once Tommy properly got to know Felicity and spent time with her, he would understand what it was about her that made Oliver love her so much. Diggle arranged to pick Oliver and Felicity up at nine the next morning before also leaving, thanking Moira and Walter for inviting him once again. They waved goodbye to the guests as they drove off down the driveway and waited, shutting the front doors once the gates were closed.

“Alright, party’s over, I’m getting into pajamas!” Thea said, racing up the staircase. “Goodnight, guys!”

Walter huffed a laugh at her antics. “Thea has the right idea, it is getting late. I need to finish up some work in the study, so I’ll see you all at breakfast tomorrow.” He kissed his wife on the cheek, clapped Oliver on the shoulder and, to everybody’s surprise, pulled Felicity in for a hug. “Thank you for coming, Miss Smoak. It was a delight having you around.”

“Oh! Thank you!”

As Walter walked away, Moira asked Felicity, “Is there anything you’d like in particular for breakfast, dear?”

“As long as there’s good coffee, I’ll be happy, thank you, Moira,” she responded, cheeks tinged pink from the surprise of being hugged. Her blush only deepened when Oliver’s mother also stepped in to embrace her.

“Remember breakfast is at seven thirty, Oliver,” Moira said, not releasing Felicity quite yet.

“I know, Mom,” he chuckled.

“I’ll see you both then.” Moira finally pulled back from Felicity, vanishing around the corner after her husband.

Oliver led Felicity up the stairs to his bedroom, guiding her in. She’d never been inside before so took a moment to stand and admire everything while the archer unclipped Hunter’s neckerchief and collar for the night, setting it aside on a counter. When Oliver turned back around, Felicity was pressing her hand down onto the bed, testing its softness, wandering over to the large bay windows with an awed expression.

“Your bedroom is half the size of my apartment,” she commented, dazed.

“But nowhere near as homely,” he said. “This room hasn’t been re-decorated in eight years; it’s exactly the same as it was before the island.”

Felicity glanced over at him as she examined the model sailing ship he had on display. “Okay, that’s a little bit creepy.”

Oliver sat on the end of the bed, scooting sideways so that Hunter could leap up and lie down beside him. “Yeah, it took a while to get used to.”

She hummed, tracing her fingers over several photo frames with old pictures in them of when he was a teenager and Thea was a toddler. “You know what I just realized?” She quirked an eyebrow. “Thea ran off before I could ask if I could borrow some of her pajamas.”

“Probably on purpose, she’s devious like that,” Oliver answered. He hopped off the bed so search through one of his drawers, pulling out an old sweatshirt of his that was too small for him to wear now, but would be more than big enough for Felicity. “Here. I imagine you want to get out of that dress, you can change in the bathroom.”

“Thank you,” she smiled, kissing him sweetly as he took the shirt from him. “I’ll need your help with the zip again.”

“As long as you don’t judge me for the ‘thing’ I have for your shoulders,” he teased her.

“It’s perfectly fine for you to have a thing for my shoulders,” Felicity said, her hands up in the surrender position. “You know why?”

“Why?”

She leaned in. “Because I have a thing for your ass.” She winked, sauntering off into the bathroom and leaving Oliver gaping after her.

He wheeled around to stare at his service dog. “Did you hear her?”

Hunter rested his head on top of his paws, flicking one of his ears back as he yawned.

He shook his head in disbelief. “A thing for my ass…”

Changing into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt to sleep in, the archer hung up his suit and got a spare hanger out, as he thought Felicity might want to hang her dress up so it wouldn’t crease. The sweatshirt hung around Felicity’s thighs and she was practically swimming in it when she came out of the bathroom, rolling up the sleeves. Oliver tried not to make it too obvious he was staring at her calves and the one shoulder that was partly exposed by the sweatshirt’s neck slipping off it.

“I’m keeping this,” Felicity told him. “You’re never getting this sweatshirt back.”

“Fair enough,” he said. “I have a drawer full of sweatshirts and hoodies that are too small for me after the island, you’re welcome to have them all.”

“You can’t make me an offer like that, Oliver.”

“Why not?”

“Because I am most definitely going to take you up on it.”

He laughed. “I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t think you would say yes and I wasn’t okay with that. They’re just clothes, Felicity.” He passed her the hanger so he could hang her dress up. “I just need to go into the bathroom for a minute. Feel free to get comfy in the bed.”

Her amused expression transformed into one of uncertainty. “I don’t want to put you out… I can sleep on the couch.”

“Felicity, we’re dating and we’re in a serious relationship; I’m comfortable sharing the bed with you, if you are. And if you’re not, and that’s totally okay, I’ll be the one taking the couch, not you.”

Felicity frowned at him for a moment, pursing her lips in such a way that Oliver thought she might be about to protest. But then she climbed onto the bed and wiggled under the covers, Hunter diving in after her for snuggles, and she said, “We can share.”

Oliver quickly went into the bathroom, using a wet washcloth to wash the gel out of hair and then brushing his teeth. He was almost too eager to return to the bedroom to get into bed with Felicity. That might have been because he suspected she was a cuddler and he loved the idea of holding her while they slept, knowing that she was safe in his arms.

Running his fingers through his hair as he exited, his heart jolted when he saw that Felicity was curled up with the comforter tucked around her, Hunter lying next to her legs. A grin spread across the archer’s face as he flipped the light switch so they were cast into darkness suddenly, eliciting a startled squeak from his girlfriend.

“I wasn’t sure what side you sleep on,” she said, as he slipped onto the mattress next to her where she’d left room. “We can switch if you want.”

“I don’t really have a side.” He remained sitting, despite her light pulling at the hem of his t-shirt to encourage him to lie down with her. “Felicity, I need to warn you. Sometimes I have extremely bad nightmares. I can get loud, and violent. You need to promise me that if I start thrashing around or… saying things, in my sleep, you’ll get out of the bed and as far away from me as possible until I wake up. I don’t want to accidentally hurt you.”

“Okay,” she agreed easily. “No touching you when you’re having a nightmare. Stand on the other side of the room until you wake up. Got it.”

“Hunter will start howling,” he said. “It will look like he’s trying to smother me, and I might start trying to hit him. I won’t be aware of anything I’m doing until I’m fully conscious, and even then, if I’m in PTSD mode, I could attack you if I think you’re a threat.”

Felicity sighed. “Oliver, stop trying to scare me away. I swear I will stay away from you if it looks as if you’re having a nightmare and things could turn bad.”

He exhaled in relief. “Okay. Good.” Clambering under the blankets, he was hesitant to ask whether or not he was allowed to hold her, but Felicity shuffled closer to him and moved his arms so they were around her waist and he was spooning her. Feeling the thud of her heart against his, Oliver relaxed. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Did you enjoy meeting my family and friends today?”

“Hmm, I did. They’re all really nice. Although I need to work on convincing Tommy I’m not after you for sex, money or fame.”

Oliver blinked. “You heard that conversation?”

“You obviously didn’t see him pull me aside on the way to the dining room.”

The archer swallowed. “Was he rude to you?” he asked steadily, trying not to let his anger show in his voice.

“No. Just told me that just because you trust me, doesn’t mean he does. He said he’ll be keeping an eye on me. He said if I broke your heart there would be hell to pay.”

“Oh god,” Oliver muttered, embarrassed by his best friend’s behavior.

“He cares about you a lot. I didn’t mind.”

“Did Laurel give you some sort of talk as well?”

“Just casually mentioned that her father is a detective in the SCPD who is rather fond of Hunter and secretly feel sorry for you after the island. But she also said that she’s never seen you smile as much as you do when I’m around you. Your friends are just protective, Oliver, it’s actually kind of sweet.”

“My ex-girlfriend threatening to have you arrested if you break my heart is sweet?” Oliver asked incredulously.

“It is when I have no plans to ever break your heart so I know there’s no chance of that happening.”

The pair fell quiet, basking in comfortable silence in the dark for a moment.

“Tommy’s afraid he’s going to lose me again like he did when the Gambit sank,” Oliver told her.

“I think everybody who loves you is terrified of losing you again, Oliver,” Felicity said. “I would be alarmed if they weren’t, after everything that’s happened to you.”

“Are you?”

“What?”

“Are you afraid of losing me?” he iterated. “You told me you love me today, and you said ‘everybody who loves me’ is scared of losing me.”

“Do I have to a reason to be scared?” she asked.

Oliver thought for a minute about how many close calls he’d had in the field so far since he’d began operating as the vigilante. How many bullets had been close to nicking a major artery? There was any number of ways that he could die working as the Hood in the future, and with the way his mission to save Starling City was headed… there was a chance that he might not make it out alive.

“No,” he finally answered, lying.

“Then I’m not scared.”

Tipping his head back into the pillow, Oliver’s eyes fluttered shut. He lifted his foot up to press it against Hunter’s warm side as the service dog moved so he was curled up in between their legs, his head propped on his master’s calf. Shifting within the archer’s arms, Felicity hummed quietly, and soon she slipped into a slumber, breathing evening out and her entire body relaxing.

Oliver felt himself getting more and more groggy by the second, but up until that final point where he fell into the darkness of sleep, his fingertips danced over Felicity’s shoulder and down her side gently, drawing unrecognizable and thoughtless patterns. He let himself simply enjoy the feeling of being able to be so vulnerable around his girlfriend, all his barriers lowered without feeling uncomfortable or threatened.

“Goodnight, Felicity,” he whispered.

Hunter huffed from his position between their legs.

Oliver chuckled quietly. “Goodnight, Hunter.”

The archer allowed his mind to drift off, his concerns and anxieties fading away into the back of his consciousness and leaving blissful, peaceful blankness behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading, i hope you enjoyed!
> 
> i would really appreciate it if you could take the time to comment and tell me what you overall thought of the fic! i'd love to hear some of your suggestions for what adventures oliver, felicity and hunter could go on in the future as well xx
> 
> tumblr: @alexiablackbriar  
> twitter: @lexiblackbriar

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed x Please leave kudos and comment!
> 
> Tumblr: @alexiablackbriar13  
> Twitter: @lexiblackbriar


End file.
